Fallout from the Atomic Wars
by BritishAlien
Summary: Marty has returned from 1931 after Doc disappeared before his eyes. Can Marty rewrite history and find his mentor? Part Two of my 'Heavy Stuff' storyline. To check out Part One look up 'Heavy Stuff' under BTTF fanfiction. Hope you enjoy! xxx
1. Back to the Future

Fallout from the atomic wars

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Hello there! Sorry, I've been away for a while with work, but I am now going to write the second part of my 'Heavy Stuff' Back to the Future storyline. If you haven't read the first part and would like to, please check it out under the Back to the Future section entitled 'Heavy Stuff'! As we are about to embark on part two, I hope you enjoy what is to come as much as I am enjoying writing it. Thank you for reading!

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Sunday 17th November 1985. 11:05am

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A hole was punched in the space time continuum. A force so strong that not even the fourth dimension could restrain it. Through this hole burst an energy. This power.

The slick-lined, stainless steel structure of the DeLorean slipped almost effortlessly from its ties to the past, present and future and spread its flaming tyre tracks into the now. The car zoomed along the road. Fire bursting from the exhaust and the smoking wheels leaving their mark on time and tide. Suddenly the back end of the DeLorean kicked out and sent the car and its driver into a squealing tail slide across the tarmac of 1985. As the car came to a halt in the middle of the road lined by trees, the bulky gull-wing door flew open and out stepped the time machine's soul passenger, Marty McFly.

The boy had just come back to the future from 1931. A year he would now never forget. He'd originally returned to the past to save his mentor, Doctor Emmett Brown, from his certain death. He'd become embroiled in the life of a younger version of the eccentric scientist and accidentally fallen into the dark past of Hill Valley, full of speakeasies, gangsters and confusion. Since Marty had become a time traveller, he tried to take days like these in his stride, but now that he was back in 1985, he was not there to relax and smile at his achievements, but to find out whether what he had done had changed things for the better or for the worse.

As he stepped out of the slowly warming DeLorean, he was unsure about how to answer his question.

At the first glance as Marty stumbled from the DeLorean and stared down the long road of the Lyons Estate, Hill Valley looked normal. The flaming tyre tracks were dissipating and shrinking into nothingness, but otherwise there was nothing out of the ordinary. There were no massive pylons built behind houses or crime scenes littered about the place like there had been after their trip to 2015. Everything was in its rightful place as it had been when Marty had left for 1931 the day before. When he had left 1931, he had been on the outskirts of Hill Valley before his road was even thought about being built. The temporal parking space which the DeLorean liked to frequent. Now that time had passed, lives had moved on and buildings had been built, Marty now stood at the entrance to the Lyons Estate, deep within the myriad of streets in Hill Valley. The DeLorean was sitting helplessly in the middle of the road having just missed a badly parked vehicle on the corner leading down Marty's street. There was however one thing that was bothering him. Two if he had bothered to pay closer attention when he had first gotten out of the DeLorean. But as he stood, a bit dazed from his time travelling journey and focussed upon his soul hope that all was back to normal, the second of these passed his judgement for the moment. What he did notice was that everything was suddenly cleaner. A whole lot cleaner and tidier. Not the kind of tidy you instantly notice, but one where after inhabiting the space for a few moments you begin to notice and comment upon the cleanliness of a place. There was no graffiti on the estate signs, nor was there any rubbish fluttering in the cool wind. Only the skittering of fallen autumn leaves could be heard as they were blown around in small turrets by the blustery gusts of wind. Now that he'd had time to take this in, this did seem odd. The positive part of him was hoping that this was just some scheme dreamt up and quickly acted upon by Mayor Goldie Wilson. One of his new initiatives to clean up the streets perhaps bought about by Marty's help 'cleaning the streets' of crime in 1931. He never had found out what happened to Kid after the fire…

But the honest, time-travelling, Doc-listening part of him told him that something was wrong. Marty blinked in the sunlight, holding his hand up above his eyes to allow him a better picture of what was in front of him. And indeed, all changed when he turned to look away from the Lyons Estate and instead began turning to survey the rest of his surroundings. He looked back on the DeLorean, sitting innocently in the middle of the street, slowly defrosting, but as his gaze wandered toward the sky, something inside of him sunk. He supposed it was hope.

Now that the Lyons estate wasn't on the outskirts of town, there were houses and buildings in the way, but even they couldn't obscure the thing that was tearing Marty's optimism down. In front of him, just teasing him over the skyline of Hill Valley, was a brick wall or at least what appeared to be brick from where he was standing. A large, loathsome wall which towered over the houses closer to it.

'Ah man.' Marty exhaled, just staring at the wall in disbelief. Marty followed it around, only to find it seeming to border Hill Valley, keeping the town enclosed. He lost sight of it as it disappeared behind a particularly high set of houses, but he knew that the wall probably encircled the entire town. He could see fringing on the top of it which looked to Marty like barbed wire, stretching in menacing coils along the high ends of the monumental structure. The houses were obscuring the rest of his view so he couldn't be certain whether there were exits or sentries placed around the wall. All he knew was that it was there now and hadn't been when he'd left yesterday.

Marty tore his sight from the eyesore that stood so far away and yet seemed to be leaving a shadow over him. Something was definitely wrong and it was all his fault. Again. The only thing he could think of doing was getting home and seeing what damage he had caused there. He might as well see how much he had changed the world before fixing it…if indeed it was possible to fix. He turned away from the wall lining and walked back towards the DeLorean. He knew that it would be somewhat conspicuous if he left it in the middle of the road. So without a thought, he leapt back inside the time machine, closed the door and drove down the Lyons Estate and back home. The seat where Doc had sat before disappearing before Marty's eyes still had its seatbelt done up. Reminding Marty of the dreadful moment a few minutes previously when his mentor had vanished right in front of him. The time machine was still in existence, thank goodness, which to Marty meant that Doc hadn't been completely erased from existence. However, this left the question: where could Doc be now? Marty didn't like to answer these questions when he was still in shock. His plan was to formulate them and act later.

'Oh geez, Doc. Where are you?' He lamented.

Marty pulled up swiftly and left the car on the curb outside his house. Whatever he discovered inside his house, he knew that the DeLorean was on standby for a quick getaway should he need one. He patted the car just as he had seen Doc do a hundred times and now he knew why. It was the one thing that was recognisable. The time machine was his tie to 'reality' and no matter what happened Marty wanted to keep it.

Marty looked at the door that led into what should be his salvation. Home is where the heart is, but Marty was scared of what he'd find in the house. Time would tell.

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Thank you for reading. Well, we're back on the road, as it were. I hope you enjoyed this little chapter ready for what is to come because where we're going we don't need….roads! :D xxx


	2. Broken

Marty placed one hand on the door. Wary about what he would find inside. Without allowing another thought to dwell on what might happen, he pushed the door wide open and entered the house. Inside, it was…well….it was dull. Everything Marty could see was either a blinding white or repetitive grey. The kitchen, dining and living open plan area that normally greeted one on entering the house was completely bland. The brightly coloured living room rug which Marty had set fire to when he was eight was missing. Family photographs that usually hung upon the walls or stood on work surfaces were also gone. Even the view onto the garden was misted and cold. Everything was blank. Marty couldn't quite believe his eyes. What had happened to cause this sterility?

He heard a door slam to his right and after a few seconds, his brother Dave appeared and walked across the room and over to the kitchen. He didn't seem to notice Marty. He ignored him as if he were Red the Bum, sitting in his drunken stupor, and not giving a care to the former mayor. Over the top of what looked like grey overalls, he was wearing a white dressing gown. The same colour as the walls and frighteningly clean for the Dave he knew. There was a small crest on the left side of the dressing gown's chest area, but his brother had passed him by too quickly for Marty to get a proper look. Marty continued to watch his brother, who coolly seemed to get on with his usual morning routine. Moving in to the kitchen, Dave walked over to one of the draws and took out a small glass beaker. He then proceeded to the fridge and took out what looked like milk, along with a small silver package which looked like a first aider's bag without the cross. It simply read 'For consuming' on the silver foil lid. After closing the fridge, he took all of his acquisitions over to the dining table, set some down and poured himself some milk before proceeding to drink it.

Marty stepped down in to the room itself and stood beside his brother.

'Hey Dave, what's going o…' But before Marty could finish his sentence, Dave turned round, flaring a hand and hitting Marty squarely on the jaw. Marty was knocked sideways, not through the force as he'd always been able to take his older brother's punches, but through sheer surprise. He hadn't quite expected such a response. Marty was left leaning on a work surface close to the dining table. As soon as Dave realised what he'd done, he placed his milk on the table and moved over to his brother, who was rubbing his jaw to ease the slowly building ache. Marty refused his brother's help and moved onto one of the seats surrounding the dining table for comfort whilst watching his brother move back towards the bottle of milk.

'Sorry, Martin. But it is your own fault.' Dave said, replacing the milk in the fridge and returning to sit at the dining table. Marty was still in shock. The ache was fading, but there was still the question as to why Dave had been so jumpy.

'My fault? How is it my fault?' Marty exclaimed, feeling confident enough to finish nursing his jaw.

'Well, what do you expect when you come in unannounced, wearing those strange clothes and sneaking up on someone like a Libyan belligerent or something…' Dave proclaimed, sipping his milk quietly.

_Like a belligerent?_ Thought Marty. He decided not to question it. He had to try and appear normal. Whatever normal was to this version of Dave.

'I mean where did you get that suit from? I haven't seen a suit for years. And where, may I ask, are your Sunday overalls? Remember it's our sectors CEP drill at midday.' Dave's criticism was frankly unwanted, but Marty could see the sincerity in his brother's eyes. Almost a longing for a truth that he knew wasn't there.

'No. No of course. I haven't forgotten. Just wanted to try something new.' Marty was trying to sound convincing. He didn't think he was doing a good job at it as Dave was looking at him suspiciously over his morning drink.

'Yes, well you've been trying something new quite a lot recently. I found out from the Baines boy that you skipped an hour unit of work the other day for 'something new.' Don't suppose I'm going to get an answer out of you about what 'something new' actually is?' After draining his drink, Dave got up from his seat, walked back to the kitchen and rinsed his glass before placing it back inside the cupboard. There was no answer from Marty. How could he answer it? He didn't know what he'd done. Dave leant on the kitchen worktop. Palms down and his head hanging down, staring at the dull surface. He sighed. 'No. Of course I'm not. You can't keep doing this Martin. You'll be dropped by the industry and Doctor Brown won't be merciful. We can't have you getting the family into any more trouble. Over the last few years we've dragged this family back from the dark and now you're considering hurling it back there all for 'something new.' Just…just…_think_ next time. _Think_ of others Martin. Not just yourself.' Dave turned to Marty, who he realised was still staring at him with deep curiosity.

'Talking of which…' Marty chanced '…where is everybody?' Dave didn't reply. 'Dave, where are Mum and Dad? What about Linda?' Suddenly Dave turned on him again. Marty jumped from his chair and leapt across the room to get out of Dave's way. His older brother hit the dining table with a clunk and turned to look at Marty. He was angry and Marty could swear that he saw tears emerging in his brother's eyes as he got closer. Marty was cornered against the white and grey sofa. He was trapped.

'You bloody well know where Linda is. Where she's been for the last four years. Oak Park cemetery. Remember? Man, what is wrong with you today Martin?' Dave was standing over Marty now, anger in his eyes with rage and regret in his voice. 'Just get out. Get out of here before I send a request to the CCI to get a room ready for you.' Dave towered menacingly over Marty. But then his brother let up. He moved out of the way and rested on one of the white counter tops, his right hand covering his eyes from Marty. Was Dave crying? All Marty knew was that he needed to get away. He took his chance and pushed himself up from the floor and ran to the front door. Marty took one look back on his brother, who had slunk to the floor and was now leaning against the wall, silently sobbing. 'And don't you think I wouldn't do it too.' Came the last words of Dave's loud sobbing voice before he descended out of Marty's immediate thoughts.

Marty thrust the front door open and ran to the centre of the driveway. He was free. He stopped and stared back at the house and considered what he'd just seen. The realisation of what he had done was slowly beginning to dawn on him. Something had worked its way to the heart of life in Hill Valley and had buried itself in its citizens. If it had gotten to Dave, it had gotten to everyone. Heck, his brother had never been the sharpest of tacks, but he'd always been strong in the face of what was wrong. And whatever this place was, it had broken him. Marty looked at the time on his watch. It was about 11:30. He then turned his gaze out into the street.

Marty had to fix this. There were no two ways about it. He had been slightly glad of the fact that things were slightly calmer back in good old 1985. But now that this wasn't good old 1985 anymore, he almost wanted to be back in 1931 amidst the guns and the gangsters. There was only one thing to be done. He'd have to find Doc. Earlier Marty had supposed that Doc wasn't dead because the DeLorean was still there. But if Doc's life had changed then he wouldn't have made the time machine and therefore none of this would've happened and not have happened and…

Marty decided to stop there. He'd never been any good at the questions he'd been asked at school. How on earth was he supposed to answer ones he didn't even know were real questions or ramblings of his time travelling addled mind. He stopped again.

Time to think clearly.

He had to find Doc. That was his main aim. Find Doc Brown, whoever he was today, and get him back to put everything back to the normal or let this world rue terror over the lives of those who lived in it. Not much of a decision about when to start was needed. It would only be a matter of time before his changes caught up with him and the time machine. Doc would've called them temporal anomalies or something and Marty knew that he had to take advantage of whatever time there was left.

He ran to the edge of the drive and was about to open the door of the DeLorean when he suddenly thought that whatever happened here, he wouldn't want anybody but Doc and himself getting their hands on it. He'd leave it here. If he changed time then it wouldn't really matter what happened to it, things would go back to normal, but if he couldn't then it'd always be handy to know where it was before his enemies did, should he find any.

With a multitude of thoughts running through his mind, Marty once again patted the DeLorean and started to run in the direction of the centre of Hill Valley. If there was anything to be found it would be found there, right at the heart of where the trouble began. Ahead lay Marty's conquest and he had no idea where it was going to lead him. But then…that was half the adventure….

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Thank you for reading part two of Fallout from the Atomic Wars. Just starting to get into the storyline now. Hope you're enjoying it and that you enjoy where we're going next. Thank you again for reading. x


	3. First Contact

What had he done to create a world where his brother was _bordering_ on psychotic? What had he done to create a kind of world where there was a wall _bordering_ Hill Valley? What had gone wrong?

All of these questions and more were swimming around Marty's head as he made his way quickly towards the centre of Hill Valley. He'd left the DeLorean behind as he feared it would be too conspicuous otherwise, but he was now starting to regret it. He'd ran away from his home so fast he felt like he was an inch away from collapsing as he came to the town square. He slowed to a gentle stroll as he came within view of the main hub of his home town.

He entered passing the corner on which 54 years previously, a great fire had risen over the shadows of Prohibition Hill Valley and smothered the darkness. Or so Marty had hoped back in 1931. Now he wasn't so sure. As Marty had run through the streets, everything had been like the Lyons Estate. It was all cleaner than a normal town should have been and also eerily devoid of life. Nobody had been taking a walk or running to work or anything. Not even a car had passed Marty by. Dave had said something about work hours, but surely someone would have been out. The bland colourings of every house had only confirmed Marty's suspicions and it was now time for him to try and find the truth.

Marty reached the town square and stayed on the corner staring in disbelief at what stood in front of him as he caught his breath. What, in its time, had been the 'Palace Saloon', the 'Sister's of Mercy Soup Kitchen' and 'Lou's Café' no longer looked like its welcoming predecessors. To Marty's 1985 mind it should have been 'Lou's Fitness Aerobic Centre' where, before he started time travelling with Doc Brown, he would wave to the ladies having their classes as he skate-boarded to school, usually late. But now, it was grey. Just grey. The glass windows had been replaced by smooth concrete, with tiny slits to let light in. The door into it was a slightly darker shade of grey and the sign above it purely read 'The Office.' This public monotony covered the rest of the square. Gone was the Toyota dealership and the movie theatre. Instead, all were the same as 'The Office.' The same grey buildings, with their grey walls and windows, with their boring signs reading 'The Bank of Hill Valley' or 'The Stationers' or 'The Lawyers.' The structures rose high above Marty, leaving shadows hanging over the square itself. Laced around the top of these buildings were loudspeakers and security cameras, glaring down on him. Nobody could ever be alone here. Marty wandered forward, dragging himself into the open, mouth wide open as he took in the scale of his meddling. This he hadn't expected. It was so different and cold. Not his Hill Valley at all.

'Geez. This is heavy.' Marty shoved his hands into the pockets of the suit he had borrowed from his dad's closet before returning to 1931. Like the DeLorean, this was the only thing left from his reality.

As he threw his gaze around the town centre, only two things stood out to Marty. The first was the grand courthouse. Although, by its new design, he very much doubted it was still used as such. Between the main pillars, the bricks had been removed and had been replaced with a beautiful array of multi-coloured stain glass windows. Every colour Marty could think of was spanned across the grand front of the building. An extra floor had been added to the top, reaching high into the sky. Still allowing it to dominate the 'lesser' buildings which accompanied it at the heart of Hill Valley. Marty thought that it resembled a cathedral more than a courthouse now. It did look beautiful, but beauty hardly seemed to matter in this grey world. The clock tower still stood resolutely watching over the town square. Marty noticed the time had not been changed. It still read 10:04, as it had done since 1955. Did some things never change? However, the clock face itself did seem larger than Marty remembered. Maybe when the courthouse was being changed to fit the large glass windows, whoever had been in charge had felt sentimental for the old clock face and its time. The past always had an impact on its future and Marty smiled at the idea that someone cared enough about that date and time to leave things as they were. However, bordering the courthouse was a set of looming, ornate, black gates with a sentry post in the middle, which Marty presumed controlled the gates. The whole place looked initially inviting, unlike the rest of the square, but the gates told another story.

Marty chose not to fixate on the courthouse and instead turned to the second thing that stood out from the monotony. The bandstand and the war memorial were no longer at the centre of the small patch of grass which brought greenery and light to the centre of Hill Valley. A 'T' shaped path had been laid across the grass. Marty stood at the bottom of the 'T' and supposed it would be a good place to admire the courthouse from, should he ever have time. The path at the top of the 'T' led to either side of the square and at the head of the 'T', there stood a bronze statue with what looked like a marble base. This dominated Marty's attention. The statue itself consisted of seven figures. The first was a man, leaning on a cane, holding aloft a large pill-shaped capsule with an atomic symbol emblazoned across its bronzed structure. The second figure was a woman, reaching for the capsule, but at the same time holding the man closely. The other figures, Marty could only guess, were children, huddling around the adults' feet, also reaching for the capsule with outstretched arms. All were smiling and looked forward. None of the figures were very clear from the tip of the path. So Marty crept closer towards the statue, as though it were about to jump out and chase him. He was constantly turning his head and looking around him in case somebody popped out from the office or the bank. As he came into touching distance, he noticed a small plaque on the base of the statue. Marty bent closer to read it.

'To the glorious future…'

It read simply and told him almost nothing. He bent back up and looked the statue straight on. He considered it for a moment. Then took two steps backward before the notion hit him. Marty recognised who the two main figures were…

But before he could do anything else, a large, screaming siren pulsed through the silence. Marty flashed his head around, looking in every direction for somewhere to hide. There was nowhere. Not now. He couldn't hide in a shop doorway or behind some trees. He was out in the open and if he ran he would be caught. The screech blared forth from the sirens, echoing off of every building.

As he considered running and trying to hide in one of the buildings, a large road buggy roared around the corner from which Marty had entered the square. The siren blared around the hollow walls and came to a stop as the buggy skidded to a halt. The large siren from the tannoy system also came to its end. Out of the buggy stepped a dark figure. Covered from head to toe in what Marty could only describe as black armour. A full faced helmet with a black tinted visor screened the person's face. The only sign of recognition that Marty could find from the figure was a badge which read 'HVPD'. The figure stood still for a few seconds, gloved hands on hips and although Marty couldn't see its face, the eyes were piercing his soul. He started to back away slowly toward the courthouse and the statue.

'Martin, halt!' Marty recognised the voice. The figure started to remove its helmet and pulled off its gloves. As the helmet was finally discarded and thrown onto the buggy, Marty saw a face he had been longing to see for a long time. It was Jennifer. Marty heaved a deep sigh of relief. Jennifer shook her long brown hair out of the restrictions the helmet had placed it under. Marty threw her what he hoped was a winning smile and started to approach her.

'Jen! It's so good to see you.' He was greeted with a sharp stare. Almost one of disappointment.

'Martin, what are you doing here? Your CES isn't for another quarter of a cycle.' Jennifer walked a step closer until the two were standing side by side. But there was something missing in Jennifer. There was no affection in her voice. It was stern and cold like this world. What had it done to his Jennifer?

'Why are people calling me Martin all of a sudden? And what the hell is a CES?' Marty replied, trying to keep his voice low in order not to provoke a negative response from this different version of Jennifer.

'Everybody calls you Martin. It is not productive to use diminutives in conversation. The CES is your civilian exercise session. You know this. What's the matter with you today? You're acting very strangely.'

'_I'm_ acting strangely?' Marty laughed and stopped when he saw that Jennifer didn't look amused. 'Something is very wrong here and it's all my fault, Jen.' Marty reached out to grab her shoulders, but Jennifer pushed him off.

'I would prefer it if you didn't call me 'Jen'. It's Jennifer and you'd be wise to remember it.' She brushed herself off after Marty's approach. 'I should be having you call me _Officer_ Parker. It's only because of citizen partnership that I am allowing Jennifer.'

'Citizen Partnership? Jennifer, this place is wrong. You're not listening. You're not like this. Hill Valley isn't like this. And why are you wearing that get up?' After some consideration, Marty had noticed that the clothes she wore were more like black overalls. A belt slung around the middle with varying accoutrements encircling the waist.

'Martin. I've been part of the police force for a good two years now. Following in father's footsteps. He's trying to fast track me.' _Father's footsteps?_ Marty thought. Danny Parker had been at the start of his police career when Marty had met him in 1931. Maybe the incident with Kid and the fire had taken him places he might never have reached if the boy from 1985 hadn't intervened. Maybe his trip had made things better…

'No kidding.'

'You seem flustered, Martin. What's the matter? You can tell me. I _will_ listen.'

'And then what? Tell your superiors…' Marty suddenly noticed the noise the security cameras made. It was a short screeching, sweeping movement, almost like they were zooming in. Marty eyed them suspiciously before turning back to Jennifer. '…Whoever they are. Then what will happen to me?'

'If you don't tell me I'll have to escort you back to your sector with the siren flaring and you know Doctor Brown won't be happy to see this on your record.'

'Then?' Marty enquired, hope lost. This definitely wasn't his world.

'Then I don't know, Martin.' Jennifer shouted, sounding exasperated. 'If you keep going off like this, who knows what Doctor Brown will have in store for you.'

'Doctor Brown? You mean, Doc. He's here? Yaha!' He hadn't noticed her say it before now, but the mention of Doc's name reclaimed all of Marty's hope. There was a possibility that he could get to Doc and change things for the better. He calmed himself down and tried to restrain himself to fit the expectations of the woman who stood in front of him. 'Jen…nifer. I know I may be acting a little strangely for you and that's ok because I'm going to fix this. I just need to talk to Doc. Right now. How can I find him?'

'You can't, Martin.'

'Why not?'

'Doctor Brown's gone.'

-x-x-x-

Thank you for reading part three. Hope you're enjoying it. What has happened to Marty's world? What's happened to Doc and will Marty be able to change things for the better?


	4. Unnatural

'Gone?' This was not the news Marty wanted to hear. 'What do you mean gone?' He nearly grabbed for Jennifer's shoulders again but thought against it considering her last reaction.

'He's away, Martin. He's always away.'

'I need to talk to Doc, Jennifer. You have no idea how important this is.' Marty's hands flew to his head and ran through his hair in disbelief. This was definitely not what he wanted to hear. There was surely no way he could get Doc back now.

'No. No, I don't Martin. And as you are blankly refusing to tell me, I can get no further. All I can tell you is that Doctor Brown is currently away at the London Summit attempting to increase Hill Valley exports. He will then be going on to the Geneva Conference as an ambassador for world peace. Then who knows where. He won't be back for some time.' She hated to break it to him like this, but it was the kindest thing to do. Jennifer looked at Martin with pure pity. He was evidently having some form of break down. She should get him home before he hurt himself. She moved closer to him, fully aware of the physical restrictions that were placed on scenes of affection in Hill Valley. Unless you were married you had to keep five inches away from a member of the opposite sex at all times unless they were injured. She was close to recoiling as he looked her straight in the eye. She hadn't noticed how beautiful his eyes were before now. Maybe the Citizen Partnership scheme had gotten things right for her. 'Now Martin, what I am going to do is take you home so you can get ready for your sector's exercise session. Okay? Come on now, let's go…'

'No.' Marty spat. This wasn't Jennifer and he had no meaningful links to her in this reality as all seemed to have been sterilised, but there was still something in Jennifer that he couldn't let go. He wasn't about to let this reality keep either of them down. 'No, Jennifer. I need to see Doc as soon as possible and I don't care what I have to do to find him. I'll fly to him right now if I have to.' He had no idea if he could even get to Doc, but his insistence had obviously stirred something in Jennifer.

'Well, I don't want you flying, Martin. You might not come back. If you are hell-bent on seeing him you will need to sign the S.B.I form. We have a couple of them back at the Department.' Marty's look became even more puzzled and Jennifer figured that she would have to explain this to him too. 'Senior Bureau Invitation. You can't just burst in unannounced. As soon as Doctor Brown returns from the conferences it'll take a bit of time before you'll get an audience.'

'How long?' Marty was not expecting the best.

'On average, it'll take six months before the paperwork goes through and then it will be when Doctor Brown has a space in his diary.'

'That's not good enough.' Marty's voice began to rise.

'Well, your next option would be to contact the next in charge.' Jennifer hated herself for this. If her father could see her now, he would be disgusted. A police officer aiding an average grade citizen to sidestep the official rules of Hill Valley state. He would be appalled. But then, if there was anything that any police officer knew, it was how to get around holes in the system.

'And who is that?

'Senator Edna Brown naturally.' Jennifer decided to reform her past prediction about Marty. 'Having' turned to already 'had' a break down. How could he forget Senator Edna?

'Edna Brown? She's his wife?' Something was definitely wrong. Marty remembered. The last time he saw Emmett back in 1931 he had seen him holding Edna's hand…but they hated each other…

'It's their fiftieth anniversary this year.' Jennifer interrupted the train of thought. 'Father has been invited to the Christmas Eve celebratory event. '

'Oh good. Maybe he might get a conference with them faster.' Marty mocked. 'Dare I ask how long it will take to get a reply from Edna?' So it _had_ been Edna on that statue with Doc. Marty wondered how much she had changed Doc's world.

Jennifer hesitated before responding.

'About three months…' At Jennifer's reply, Marty started marching towards the large black gates of the courthouse. If he couldn't get through playing by the rules, he would have to try the old fashioned way. Just like Tannen had done in 1931. 'Martin, what are you doing?' Marty was tearing towards the gates now. 'I'll _have_ to escort you home if you don't stop at once.'

'Good.' Marty shouted back. Slowing slightly as he nearly reached the gates. He could sense Jennifer following him. 'You said that if I am escorted home it will go on my record and your precious 'Doctor Brown' will see it. He'll want to talk to me then. It'd be a damn sight quicker than your S.T.I forms or whatever they're called…' Jennifer ran so that she caught up with Marty. She turned herself so that she was standing between him and the gates. She forced her hands onto his shoulders and started to push against him.

'Martin, you can't.'

'Why?' Marty was shouting. He didn't mean to. His anger at what Edna had done, although he had no proof yet, was brimming over. And as normal…all of this…was his fault. 'Why, Jennifer? If I storm in I might get somebody's attention. I don't know what will happen to me then because I don't know what the heck this world is. All I know is that it'll get me a step closer to Doc and I'm not afraid to take that step because I know what is right. And this isn't it.' Marty stopped pushing against Jennifer's restraint, but his anger was still high.

'I don't know why you have your heart set on this, Martin. All I know is that I can't help you…' A tear was glistening in her eye. Marty saw it before she quickly wiped it away. Jennifer didn't know what it was about him or about today. All of a sudden she felt sorry for him and wanted to fulfil his wish to see Doctor Brown. She couldn't believe she was listening to him though. All those years with her father telling her to keep up a barrier between her and the assailant and now that barrier had fallen and she was hearing everything. But worst of all was that she believed every word he said…

Before either could speak again, the silence of the town square was destroyed. Obliterated by the loud, screaming siren that he had heard before Jennifer arrived in the square. Both of them looked around the town centre, wondering if anything would jump out at them. Jennifer worried that maybe they had been caught being too close to each other. That meant four months in CCI. But the alarm soon stopped and a voice rang throughout the grey buildings. It was electronic and cold. Clipped and smart, it split the even colder silence of Hill Valley.

'The CEP sessions of LE sector at midday have been cancelled. All LE and Central citizens congregate in the town square for a Public Reminder Event immediately.'

-x-x-x-

Thank you for reading. Hope you're enjoying it. xxx


	5. Citizen Reminder

The echo of the voice bounced around the town centre before falling to stunned silence. Marty glanced around the square to see if anything else was about to enter and crash his party. After all, he wasn't supposed to be here. Technically, none of them were…

'Citizen Reminder? Ah geez. Why does nothing here sound friendly?' Marty tried to joke. He turned back to seek some form of resolve from Jennifer, only to find that she had returned to the small buggy which she had parked on the side of the green area on entering the square. 'Jennifer?' But she didn't respond. Marty moved over to the cart and found that she was reaching down into the belly of the buggy. The outer bulk of the vehicle was concealing a small grey compartment, which sat between the buggy's two seats, with 'HVPD' stamped on the top. Jennifer had lifted the lid and her hand was now rummaging around in the dark recesses of the box, hitting various things that appeared to be of no use to her. From the compartment, she finally pulled out a pair of black handcuffs and what looked to Marty like a thin pistol before closing the hatch. 'What are they for?' Marty replied, shocked, almost wanting to pull the objects from her hands.

'Insurance…' She replied honestly, standing and placing the acquisitions on her belt. But before Marty could question her further, he noticed how Jennifer's eyes were not fixed upon him, but stared right past him. Marty turned his head slowly and was met with the sight of what could only be described as an army. He watched as hundreds of people marched in formation into the centre of Hill Valley. As soon as they crossed the perimeter of grey buildings they broke formation and began to congregate in a large group on the green space and around the statue. When this space was taken, they just pushed themselves into any available space. The town square was packed with people who had appeared as if from nowhere.

'Jennifer….what is this?' Marty said turning every way, watching the ensuing crowd build until he was so tightly packed in by the marauding mass of people that he couldn't move at all.

'We need to get closer to the front of the pack.' Jennifer held out her hand in the small gap that was left between them. Marty looked at her. She looked calm and collected, but Marty could see a dim light of fear in her eyes, like she was way out of her depth. From what she had revealed about this world, it seemed like an act of affection towards anyone was frowned upon. Jennifer would be taking a risk holding his hand in such an arena where eyes wandered and tongues would wag. How had the world come to this? But Marty grabbed her hand tightly and was soon being pulled through the mass of people. The figure of the law pushing her way through the crowd. They found themselves vaguely close to the front of the pack before Jennifer stopped, calling out over the chattering of the crowd, 'This is close enough. We don't want you attracting too much attention in those clothes.' The front of the crowd was still a way off. Marty and Jennifer were standing level with the back of the bronze statue and the rows of people in front of them reached all the way to just a few metres from the black courthouse gates.

Suddenly, a clock began to chime. The noise was coming from the heart of the clock tower, but the clock remained stuck as it had been since 1955 on 10:04. The chimes inside rang out midday and the chattering of the amassed crowd fell to silence.

The large oak doors of the courthouse opened with a whining creak and out stepped two people. Everybody in the crowd was craning their necks to get a closer look, trying to look over the heads of the people in front of them, but all their eyes met with was the image of two blank figures being escorted by four guards. Two for each prisoner. The guards looked like members of a SWAT team, only he presumed that the emblem on the chest read the same as Jennifer's, 'HVPD'. The convicts were wearing the same grey overalls as Dave had been wearing earlier that morning and, now that Marty noticed it, so was everybody else. However, the prisoner's faces were covered by black hessian bags, draped over their heads to mask their features. They could have been anybody, but from what Marty had seen of this world, that was probably the point.

The oak doors were closed and the entourage made their way to the gates of the courthouse, which swung slowly open, allowing the pair and their train to leave the courthouse's compound and walk out into the main square. The two prisoners were made to stand in front of the sentry point whilst the black gates swung shut and the guards stood to attention on each side of their designated prisoner. Now Marty could see them more clearly, he noticed that the hands of the prisoners were tied behind their backs and their feet were chained with the length only just allowing them to walk. This was barbaric, thought Marty. He looked to Jennifer who was surveying the crowd, perhaps looking for her catch of the day. Somebody who could make himself a nuisance and give Jennifer cause to arrest them and a possibility for promotion to make her dad proud. However, she knew that the subservience of this community would never give her the chance. But still she looked on. As the couple were made to face the onlooking crowd, the whispering began. Marty could hear odd ends of conversations all of which led into one another like a serpent of unsubstantiated truths.

'I've heard old Philpott hasn't been seen for a while…Maybe something's happened to him…'

'Who do you think it is? Glad it's not me though…'

'Have they caught him? At last?'

'Could be anyone…'

Soon enough the words lost all meaning and in Marty's mind the conversations descended into a maelstrom of whispers, both truths and lies. The gossip soon came to an end when movement was spotted from on high. On the second floor of the courthouse there lay a large balcony, which Marty had failed to notice before now. It was accessible by two giant, multi-coloured, glass doors which began to open and cast the crowd into silence. Out of the hidden realm of the courthouse stepped six guards, wearing the same as the ones keeping an eye on the prisoners. The guards assembled themselves in a line, equally spaced along the balcony and stared out to the crowd and just watched...

Who were they waiting for? Marty turned to Jennifer who was now standing to attention. One arm was still holding tightly onto Marty's whilst the other arm was raised to salute, which mirrored the guards which surrounded the courthouse compound. And Marty soon discovered why…

The crowd began to cheer and whoop at the sight of the women who stepped through the balcony doors. Standing proud at the head of the balcony was Edna Strickland.

There she stood as prim and delicate as the day Marty had first saw her enter Judge Brown's office in 1931. The black hair was still slicked back into a tight bun, but now whispers of grey swam through it. Her skin betrayed her age and her posture was a little stooped, but apart from that, the figure of Edna loomed strongly over Hill Valley. She looked out on her kingdom, craning her neck slightly. She smiled. A smile that reminded Marty of those dummies you see in shop windows. Slowly the applause died down and left the cool midday air open to accept her dulcet tones.

'Citizens of Hill Valley. It is my sad duty to inform you that a cog ticks out of place in the clockwork of our great city.' She paused for a moment, surveying her audience again. 'It is due to a relatively small number of citizens that we are not working as effectively as is preferential to all.' Edna raised her hand and two of the prisoner's guards moved in to their quarry and removed the bags from their heads. There was a gasp as the crowd discovered the truth.

It was Marty's mum and dad. Lorraine and George stood quivering. Faces tired and strained. Dark marks encircled their eyes and his mum's mascara had run leaving traces of sorrow for all the world to see.

At the sight of them, Marty tried to push his way through the crowd, but he was being kept back by Jennifer's strong hand and the sheer density of the crowd that lay between him and his parents. Edna allowed the chatter to continue for a moment to stir further speculation before reasserting her handle over the situation.

'This cog has to be fixed and put back into the works. This has been achieved through the CCI programme and now with only a week left of corrective training, these two shall be able to control their children more productively and point them towards the aspiration of all in Hill Valley. If we do not achieve our targets, we cannot maintain our position as an international superpower in these dark…dark times. To the glorious future…' Edna raised her hands high and seemed to call out to the sky. Her obeying public cheered and joined in the celebration. 'And our very position as a worldwide superpower has been due to the ground-breaking, endless striving of our glorious leader who even now is abroad acting as an advocate of peace and harmony. All hail Doctor Brown!' The cheering escalated and Marty stood trapped in the seething mass of noise and false protestations of adoration. Jennifer looked at him with pitying eyes. He didn't want to be pitied, but he could understand why she would…

However, all assertions of conformity came to an end when a great *clunk* came from the large oak doors of the courthouse. The crowd descended into silence. All faces turned towards the doors to see what was interrupting the glorious salute to their leader. Two guards were opening the doors. After a few seconds of nothing, the anticipation of the crowd drew out the surprise. From the darkness that could be seen of the courthouse, hope for the citizens of Hill Valley was revealed. Walking from the darkness and through the double doors into the light was Doc.

Marty was almost swept along with the rest of the crowd with their celebrations as Doc stepped down the stone steps and up to the black gates. Marty could hear gossip amidst the noise maelstrom once more.

'He's supposed to be abroad…'

'He has returned to us.'

'What glorious news could he have brought from across the seas?'

Marty turned to look at Jennifer only to find that she had been swept away with the celebrations of the crowd. She was jumping and cheering for the return of her leader, but most importantly in her excitement, she had let go of Marty's hand. He was now free and able to drift through the sea of people. He made his way slowly forward and quickly found himself to be only two rows back from the front.

The two guards who stood on the doors did not follow Doc, but left him to walk through the large black gates as they opened to let him past. Some in the front row of the crowd reached their hands out as Doc neared his final destination. They certainly did seem dedicated. Almost viewing Doc as a celebrity to drool over and faint out of pure happiness at the sight of. No man should be seen as a God. What terrible world was it where Doc was seen as one?

Finally, Doc came to rest in front of Marty's mum and dad who also stood in complete shock of the appearance of their leader, despite the battering they appeared to have taken. He didn't look back at them. Doc stood resolutely at the head of the prisoner's entourage and looked out on his people. Surveying the crowd just as Edna had done.

But all Marty cared for was that here stood Doc! Well, what Marty saw as Doc. The great white hair had been restrained and elegantly combed back, but apart from that the most startling change was that the man who abhorred routine and structure was wearing a suit. A three piece, dark blue striped with a pocket watch chain hanging between the pockets of the waistcoat. He looked like a butler. But to all intents and purposes, this was the man Marty knew in the other universe. This was the man that Marty had gone back to 1931 to save and had befriended the younger version of. But most importantly, this was the man who could save the whole of time and causality itself. He had to be…

As the cheering died down, Doc sported a similarly trained smile to Edna and turned to address his people.

'My fellow citizens of Hill Valley.' A rousing cheer echoed throughout the town square before Doc could continue. 'I have come amongst you today bearing glorious news. The Peace Accords that we have all been waiting for are to be signed at the Geneva Conference as a result of the success of the London Summit. The war is over. I repeat. War with Vietnam is over. Mr Reagan's expansion of the war has been halted and they will be bringing our boys home. There have been many opportunities over the years to draw this terrible conflict to an end, but finally, due to the supplies that we send to the country and our troops, the Northern allies have finally fallen and have consented to sign for peace.' The crowd cheered as his voice triumphantly proclaimed success. Marty narrowly avoided being hugged by Mrs Needles such was the overwhelming effect that the lack of war had on these people. History had been changed. Back in Marty's world, the Vietnam War had ended years before. Back in the Seventies. Sure the effects of it were still there, but it had been over for the best part of a decade. Marty remembered the final days of the war being broadcast on the television. But here in this world, the conflict had struggled on. Another ten years of strife and death in a country far away from home. How could all this have been the result of what Marty suspected had changed all those years ago? How had this come about because two people fell in love? Because Doc fell in love… 'Now, because the end of war has finally come, our production of the supplies to that area shall reduce slightly, but we must not forget the other conflicts that are spreading throughout the world. We must keep hitting our targets to ensure that peace will one day get to those caught in the heart of conflict. Now go to it and triumph with us to bring a more glorious future…' He punched the sky and the cheers of the crowd rose to an all new level. It was deafening. Marty had to cover his ears with his hands.

But all of a sudden the cheering stopped and the people started to leave the square. The conversation started and the hundreds that had packed into the heart of Hill Valley were now making their way back to wherever they had come from. There was no wind down, just an order which they followed obediently.

Marty tried to stand firm against the tide of people as he watched what happened to his parents. Their faces were covered again and they were led back into the courthouse compound. The gates opening to let them through; unheard and unseen. Forgotten for the moment whilst Doc's message assured them that life was still bright. Doc Brown himself stayed firm, watching his people leave the square before smirking to himself and following Marty's parents through the gates. He slipped through the gates as they began to close and was walking back to the large oak doors, ready to be locked away from the rest of the world. This was Marty's chance. Without thinking, the boy from the right 1985 started running and quickly passed the gates. He ran faster until he was within reach of grabbing Doc's attention. But before he got the chance, he was tackled roughly to the floor of the courthouse compound by two of the guards who had stayed on duty. Doc had obviously heard the commotion behind him and turned slowly to watch Marty struggle in the grip of the guards. Doc looked at him in pure amazement and sadness.

'Doc! Doc, you've gotta listen to me…' Marty shouted.

'I have done all the listening I would wish to do and more. All for you, Martin. In the past few weeks, I am told you have been nothing but trouble and I am sincerely disappointed…' Marty was lifted from the floor to a standing position but stayed in the vice like grip of the two burly gorillas that kept him still. Marty wanted to talk, to yell to Doc that this world was wrong, but one of the guard's hands was clamped over his mouth. All Marty could do was produce incoherent ranting which fell deaf to all but him.

Doc walked closer and gestured for Marty to be allowed to stand of his own accord. The two guards released their grip, but stayed close. Doc moved in so that his face was almost touching Marty's. 'I'll see you in time, Martin.' Doc nodded to the two guards and walked away from Marty, up the stone steps and disappeared into the safety of the courthouse. Marty had lost his chance. He looked away in disbelief at the man who had left him. He'd made a mistake and now he might never get to Doc. Now, he had two beefy blokes ready to pounce back on him at any given moment. One of the guards grabbed hold of Marty, pulling his arms behind his back which released a flourish of stinging pain running through Marty's back. The other began to circle Marty like a tiger. Marty tried to struggle. He thought that maybe one would be weaker than two; it was true, but not by much. The guard who walked around Marty considering him finally came to a stop. He was a tall man and Marty could just see over his shoulder if he tried. Marty knew he wouldn't get out of this…well…whatever came next…

'The boss wants us to deal with you, kid. And deal with you we will…'

And then all went black…


	6. Waiting

Marty awoke with his head throbbing, the heart racing, trying to wake himself up. His eyes opened slowly, getting used to the light which blinded him. When he saw that the room was empty of people, he cautiously surveyed his surroundings. It seemed that he'd been placed on a sofa of some kind and left there to recover from…whatever had happened. His memory was a little hazy on that front. Marty pushed himself up from the sofa on which he had seemingly been thrown. The last thing he remembered was seeing Doc disappear into the Courthouse and the two goliath guards, whom his old friend had placed on watch around him, who had made their lives easier by effectively silencing him for…well…for however long it had been. Marty couldn't quite tell. For a time traveller, he was always bemused at how bad he was at keeping time.

He looked around the room in which he had been encased. It was tiny. The room consisted of two lurid orange sofas sitting on opposite walls to one another, one of which Marty had found himself on. A small television monitor had been attached to a wall bracket and was hanging from one of the ceiling corners. But apart from two doors, one that presumably led to the exit and one that led to Marty's next destination, the room was otherwise devoid of explanation and point. The walls were grey, just like the buildings outside, which contrasted with the orange sofas. The light fittings were grey and cast more shadow than light in the small cupboard Marty had found himself in. However, there were two lights above one of the doors. One coloured red and the other green. The red one was currently screaming out onto the grey walls and floor of this little room.

Marty rubbed his eyes and stretched. What had the guards done to him? Thrown him down the stairs? He ached all over and it felt like he'd ran several marathons. Everything hurt. He really started to wonder what Doc had made his hoodlums to do to him. This was when Marty's mind suddenly turned to his old friend. This world had changed so much because the crazy old scientist had fallen in love…or so it seemed to Marty when considering the information he had collected. When had it been that love was so terrible that it did this to a world? Even his own love, in this world, had been reduced to a zombie of state control. Is that really what love could do?

Suddenly, Marty's attention was drawn from his depressing and surprisingly deep thoughts of lost love and aching curiosity, when the television that was hinged in the corner of room, suddenly sprang to life. A white dot appeared in the centre of the screen and grew until the screen was filled with a vapid grey background. Whilst the set took time to warm up, a woman started to appear on the screen. She was quite young. Perhaps mid-20s, her blonde hair had been tied back into a strict pony tail, not a hair out of place. She was quite good looking but it was her eyes that told her story. They were wonderfully blue and stood out against the grey background, but something inside them showed her pain. They seemed almost dead inside with tired strain badly hidden by mountains of makeup caked around her eyes. Not a whisper of a smile lingered on her otherwise perfect face…

She was sitting at a desk; much like a news reporter did, staring down the line of the camera, unblinking.

'Good day Citizen. Welcome to the personal waiting room of First Citizen Doctor Emmett L. Brown. Unfortunately, Doctor Brown is currently unavailable. While you wait, ELB industries presents a snappy history of the life of our glorious leader and how he sparked the revival of Hill Valley from a middle of nowhere town to the glorious present day dream…' her clipped pronunciation did nothing to inspire confidence in Marty. Suddenly, another video clip began. It showed the same woman, looking a bit older than before, still in the same position behind the desk. 'This video has been updated as of Sunday 17th November 1985. Thank you' Her fake smile stretched as far as it could on her petit face as if pulled by ropes and pulleys. She then began to fade away until her image was replaced with a static photograph of an old hospital. A few cars were parked outside and some women were walking along the street, completely oblivious that the photograph had ever been taken and that moment in their lives would be documented forever. Suddenly, the young blonde woman's pert voice began to narrate Doc's life.

'Doctor Emmett Lanthrop Brown was born on 22nd April 1914 in Hill Valley Memorial Hospital. From an early age, Doctor Brown developed a keen interest for science, but it was only at the tender age of 18 that he discovered his true calling to our political salvation when he was hailed by the town folk of Hill Valley in 1932 after he and the young Commissioner, Danny Parker, were successfully able to uncover another of Kid Tannen's lascivious gambles to turn Hill Valley even deeper into the hell of 1930s America.' Marty smirked. He remembered with fond recollection what had happened merely hours before in Marty's timeline. The excitement, the confusion…the danger. All summarised on screen before him. The picture that displayed this part of Doc's life was of himself and Danny appearing at some kind of award ceremony, both with large medals hanging around their necks and holding a small trophy, presumably congratulating the two for their deed to the city. Emmett's large smile filled half the frame, whilst Parker's casual, police demeanour paraded only honour and respect. Marty smiled at Emmett's brightness.

'It was also at the age of 18 that Doctor Brown found his true love and three years later in 1935, joined by hundreds of the Hill Valley dignitaries and elite, married his first love in a lavish ceremony celebrating the peak of perfection in his life and the beginning of a partnership which would forge the dominance of Hill Valley for the next fifty years.' A montage of images and video clips of a very nervous looking Emmett standing outside a church flashed on screen before a smile cleared his stormy mood when a black car arrived and out stepped a woman in a long white wedding dress. Another picture appeared and showed a very happy Emmett carrying his bride, Edna, and softly kissing her forehead. Marty looked away. He'd gotten used to Doc acting like that around Clara, but Edna…

Pictures that were all too familiar to the world suddenly flashed on screen. It could only be war. 'Their happy marriage, however was cut short by the onslaught of war and within weeks of the call to arms, Emmett enrolled and spent most of his time in France on the frontline.' Marty frowned slightly. He had never known Emmett had fought in the war. He knew he would have been the right age and everything; it had just never crossed his mind to think that Doc had been involved in that terrible war. It wasn't something people liked to talk about. 'In 1945, Emmett returned to the US after the death of the German Fuhrer and the successful seizure of Berlin. The victory was a hollow one, for when Emmett returned from service he was met by his loving wife who told the young man that his father had passed away a few weeks before the Armistice.' Another image of Emmett and Edna appeared on screen. They were stood in front of the same Church that appeared in their wedding photos, but this time the attitude was sombre. There were no smiles. Emmett's head was bowed, whilst Edna clung to his side, comforting a man who had just given his all to help save the peoples of the world lose everything…

'After a year of personal confinement, the young Emmett suddenly announced the creation of a new company which would change the face of war as he had seen it. The famous ELB Industries was formed in 1946 and began to manufacture chemical weaponry. Slowly but surely, the company began to grow and the outreach of his specialist weaponry grew and grew in the age of the atomic bomb until ELB Industries was given its baptism of fire in the successful American campaign in Korea after the opposing sides reached stalemate. ELB Industries specialised weaponry brought the war to a successful conclusion. From then on, throughout the many conflicts of our century, his weapons were used in conflicts throughout the Cold War. The fallout from the atomic wars was the chemical wars and the burgeoning empire and dominance of ELB industries and Hill Valley.' Images of bombs and chemical slicks ran across the screen. Marty looked on in horror. He knew that his world, his timeline, wasn't exactly innocent, he knew that war had spurned terrible things, but what he saw displayed in front of his was truly monstrous.

'It was through the use of weapons in Vietnam and at the climax of the Cold War that Doctor Brown began to unleash his master plan. Both sides of the Cold War were contacting Hill Valley for weapons.' Please say Doc didn't supply them, please say Doc didn't do what this world could turn you to… 'It was on 22nd April 1975, his birthday thirty years after his return from war, that Doctor Brown made the famous 'Stalemate Speech.' Marty moved in closer to the television until he stood directly below it. A video of the Hill Valley Courthouse began to play. A large crowd were amassed outside. The camera cut to the podium outside the Courthouse and there stood Doc. Suited and booted, the image of the man he had seen only hours before. The image of a man who had walked away from Marty in shame. And still, Doc dominated.

'People of the world, I am here to declare that the use of ELB Industries' chemicals shall no longer be used to wage war against our fellow man…' The video cut and jumped as if parts had been cut out. Marty thought it was fair. This was supposed to be a brief history while he waited for Doc. 'Our weapons should not be used as advocates for war. They are to be used as last chance and as advocates of peace. Our specialist A-Bomb has become a symbol of terror and hatred throughout the world. No more. From this day forth, it shall be used as a reminder that hate can rouse the fiercest of human temper. Today, they will be a reminder of war's terror. Today, WAR ENDS!' Doc shouted the final line and the crowd exploded into applause as he punched the air and looked out over his people. Marty stood shocked.

'It was after this speech' the woman's voice returned 'and hundreds of political negotiations between Doctor Brown and the rest of the world that the Cold War officially came to its end. Conflicts in Cold War torn countries still wage on to this day, but the political backing has withdrawn, showing the ultimate power of Hill Valley and its exports upon the rest of the world. As recognition, Doctor Brown was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.' Another photo of Doc appeared on screen, him accepting the Nobel Peace Prize with hundreds upon hundreds of spectators to cheer on the man Marty once knew.

'In 1976, he became the Mayor of Hill Valley and was granted the Key to the City. From that day, Doctor Brown has toured the world as a peace envoy and has kept Hill Valley and the world in a state of peace and harmony…' The last image was a picture of the man Marty had last seen walking in to the Courthouse. It was recent and showed him sitting at his desk in his office. Totally in control.

The television image flickered into nothing and Marty was left stunned. Marty couldn't quite believe his eyes. He had thought the history of Biff had been bad enough when he'd returned from the future to 1985, but now he had seen what terror this world truly was. This was hell. Marty stumbled back, still in shock at what he had seen, and slumped onto one of the sofas.

'Ah Doc!' He rubbed his head, his eyes flashing between the wall opposite him and the television screen. After five minutes of pure stunned silence, the red light next to the door extinguished itself and the green light shone eerily over the grey room. The door began to open slowly. One of the goliath guards that Marty had the pleasure of having met earlier marched out of the room, past Marty and through the door on the other side. No hint of recognition that Marty had even been there. Wherever that man was headed was doomed to the foulest scrutiny of this world.

'Come in, Martin…' Came an all too familiar voice. Marty waited for a second to recover and warily pushed himself up from the sofa before walking slowly to the door of Doc's office and to his fate…

-x-x-x-

Thank you so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed it! :D x


	7. The Confrontation

Marty stepped through the large oak door which led to Doc's office. None of the universe he had returned to was safe, but he felt that, as he left the small waiting area and the world it had shown him, the hope that he could succeed had plummeted. He turned to close the door behind him, hearing a quiet claxon sound, probably turning the green light on the door to red. Room occupied. Marty kept his eyes fixed on the door. Everything depended on what came next. Then with a huge effort of his will, he turned around and looked at the manner in which this universe's Doc conducted himself. What Marty saw as he turned was at the other end of the spectrum to the old garage where Doc in the other universe called home. So far removed from where Emmett and Marty had concocted the chemical to break Doc out of his cell in the past 24 hours. It had all happened so fast and yet this room was so different from what Marty knew of Doc that it was beginning to convince the young time traveller even more of the challenge that stood before him.

The walls were clad in oak panelling with lavish gold flourishes bordering the wooden room. There were similarly constructed chests of draws with gold handles and varnished surfaces which lined the walls. Images of lush countryside and open freedom adorned the sides of the room. All he supposed was what those who structured this world hoped to create in this desolate existence. However one of the pictures Marty recognised from his own universe, but it had been changed to conform to the structures of this reality. A couple stood in front of a white farm house with a very distinctive upper window. The two people in the frame, a man and a woman should have been farm workers, but on closer inspection Marty found that it was none other than Doc and Edna in some of the overalls Marty had seen the people of Hill Valley wearing earlier. Marty continued his journey through the long room slowly trying to prolong the inevitable just a little longer. The floor was dull except for a lengthy red carpet which led anyone who entered the room to its centre point. Ahead of him was truly unbelievable. It was funny how lives and time crossed over. The entire back wall of Doc's office was the clock tower. In fact, the very clock itself. Behind him were the cogs and gears of the tower looking very old and tired but still recognisable from when Marty had followed Emmett to the top of it back in 1931. Cogs and coils curved elegantly around one another. But the workings were still. Stuck where they had been since 1955. The rickety wooden staircase that crept around the walls to the top of the building was still in place and Marty could just about see where it escaped to the ledge which looked out over the heart of Hill Valley. Some daylight was pouring through the glass face of the clock, but the sun was setting. Its orange glow was almost completely engulfed by the darkness of night which fell so early in November. He had obviously been out for longer than he thought. How much time did he have?

Then Marty concentrated on the room's main attraction. On a slightly higher level from the rest of the room was Doc's desk. On a small platform stood a large desk which sat near the back of the room. A small barrier seemed to have been rigged to allow the desk to stand with the beautiful clockwork framed behind him. Between the railings and the desk stood television screens piled on top of each other. Almost reaching Marty's height. The images showed a large range of Hill Valley, some of which was still recognisable from Marty's world. Of course there was the Hill Valley town square just beyond the back of Doc's office, Lone Pine Mall which looked dead and Riverside Drive where Doc lived. How strange. Maybe Doc's house and garage presented possibilities that Marty could exploit. After all, it was still the crazy scientist behind this world, only now he wore a three piece suit, not a lab coat. On Doc's desk were numerous piles of paper all incredibly neat, but in the midst of it sat a name plaque which, as Marty got closer, he was able to read. It simply read 'Doctor Brown. First Citizen.' Behind the desk sat a large red leather bound chair with a tall back, facing away from Marty and towards the screens. The time traveller stepped up on to the platform and approached the desk with trepidation. As he walked nearer, a fear descended over him as if something might jump out of the walls and stop him before he got too close. He couldn't deal with another of those henchmen, his back still shivered at the thought of them. He couldn't afford to be out for however many hours he had been asleep. Not again.

Suddenly, Marty heard a creak. The large leather red chair began to turn and after it had rotated fully the man sat facing Marty was Doc. The demeanour of his reveal reminded Marty of a Bond villain as he turned to face his prey. Marty could see his mentor clearly now. He was truly a different man to his good friend back in the real 1985.

'Well, sit down, Martin' Doc gestured for Marty to take a seat. Marty looked around him but could not find anywhere to sit but the floor. However, within seconds, a hatch had opened in the floor just in front of the desk. An old worn leather chair began to rise from the platform and soon the small seat had fully revealed itself beside Marty. Doc gestured Marty to take a seat once again which he quickly did. He wasn't going to take any of the universe's crap that he feared this version of Doc would hurl at him, but if doing as he was told kept him in the office and gave him the opportunity to talk to his old friend, then Marty would do anything. There was still some of the old Doc in there somewhere. Marty had not seen any kind of technological advancement in this world except for this almost sci-fi B-movie chair. Maybe there was some of the inventor in this world's Doc after all. All Marty had to do was find him and convince him…

In Doc's lap sat a file with a picture of Marty paper clipped to the outside of the folder. As Marty sat down, Doc had closed the file, flinging it between the piles of paper on his desk. He had then leant forward, crossing his arms on the desk in front of him, looking straight into Marty's eyes. In all honesty it made the boy from the real 1985 a bit uncomfortable. The eyes were no longer shimmering with a mad glow of delight and creativity. They seemed so cold.

'Martin Seamus McFly. 18 years old. Sector LE. Mother Lorraine, Father George, Brother David…' He didn't mention Linda. Dave had told Marty that his sister was….dead. He hadn't quite believed it until now. Doc's face had looked almost sorry when he neglected her name, but soon it brightened slightly. Maybe something good was coming Marty's way. 'Recipient of a scholarship to Strickland College, winner of the Citizen Brown Behaviour award two years running and a diligent worker in the industry… Then it all went wrong, didn't it Martin?' Doc's smile slipped. 'You have been seen loitering in the streets past curfew hours. Then there was the spray painting incident, you know what you did there! Also, you have been taking extortionate amounts of time off from industry duties. Now there is nothing wrong in that as a concept. A couple of hours a year other than holidays, you know. It is what a citizen needs to keep going. But not SEVENTY SIX IN THE PAST QUARTER!' Doc stood up forcefully. Hands firmly smacked onto the desk, head bowed, almost unable to look to Marty. 'The question that arises from this predicament is one which I think should be wrapping itself around your head right now. What happened to you?' Doc stood to his full height, arms stretched wide questioning Marty, face aghast. Marty remained in his chair. Stuck to it in sheer disbelief.

'What happened to me? Geez, Doc. What happened to you?' Marty had been right when he walked into the room. This was not Doc and yet he was so close.

'And why do you call me 'Doc'? You shouted it earlier in the compound. Why 'Doc'?' The old man had question marks in his eyes such was his wish to know the answer. Marty was not going to give in though. 'Martin McFly, you are taking advantage of the position you built for yourself in your younger days and I am here to tell you today that you are no more than another citizen. You are as insignificant as the rest of them. Another ant in this Hill Valley moving towards a brighter future. You are just a cog in the works that myself and Edna set out to build all those years ago. I am disappointed in you. You are nothing…' Marty stared at Doc as his voice grew louder and more distinct. This had to change. Doc stayed behind his desk pacing, waiting for Marty to reply. He could see that the young boy in front of him had something to say. 'Well? Spit it out!'

'If you insist.' Marty's wry smile obviously toying with the older man's frustration. Doc nodded. Marty pushed himself up from his seat. 'I came here today to find the only man who is capable of changing the world…'

'And I have changed the world. We are all living in the changed world. In a world free of war and…' Doc stopped. Marty had raised a silencing finger to his own lips and murmured 'Sssshhh' for Doc's silence.

'No. Let me finish because what I have to say Doc, it matters!' The wrong Doc looked offended by Marty's intrusion but didn't want to interrupt. He hadn't been spoken to like that for many a moon. It was the one thing that could be unleashed in every human being. When spoken to with that kind of force and determination, it created a sense of confidence in the speaker and Martin had surprisingly achieved that. Doc went back to his chair and resumed the position he had sat in earlier, arms crossed, looking on expectantly to Marty. The time traveller realised he now had Doc's attention. This was his opportunity. 'Now this is going to sound crazy, but then again so does a lot of my life recently. Right…here goes nothing.' Marty could feel the words bubbling up inside him. It sounded bizarre but it was his only chance. 'This is not how the world should be. None of this is real. Not you, not me, not any of this. I am from an alternate time line… an alternate Hill Valley. And it is that Hill Valley that is the real one and you are the _only _person who can change it all back to normal. All you have to do is listen to what I have to say and then we can _really_ change the world. And I mean _really_.'

'And how different are these worlds? How did they come into being?' Doc shrugged, asking his questions like they were directed at an eight year old. Marty almost hesitated to say what came into his mind. He knew it was the truth but still something held him back. The ridiculousness of it all, he supposed. Ever since he had seen the DeLorean slide out of Doc's lorry Marty's life had never been the same. If he had been told of all the things that would happen to him as a result of being friends with the mad scientist, he would have ignored it as a whacked out fantasy. But it was real. All of it. And truth always won out.

'In the other universe, we're friends. Really good friends.' It hadn't dawned on him until now just how close he and the old scientist had become. If this didn't work he wouldn't just lose Hill Valley which was a big enough price to pay. He would be losing a friend, mentor and a good man. 'And in that world you created a time machine out of a DeLorean…'

'Why?' Doc looked confused, not that the story could get anymore fantastical. Marty was silenced while he thought of a reason, but soon came to the conclusion that there wasn't one and there didn't need to be one.

'Why not? That, along with so much other stuff is what is wrong with this reality and with you. No scope, no vision. It's all just sit down, stay quiet and do as you're told because the monsters are coming. From what I have seen of this world, it should never have been. And I hate to admit it Doc, especially to you, but it's all my fault…' Marty couldn't bear to look at the fraud in front of him. This man was definitely not Doc, but regret still poured into Marty's head when he looked into that man's eyes. Marty turned away and started to pace around the little platform.

'And why is it your fault Martin?' Doc seemed genuinely concerned. Was Marty turning the tide?

'The you from the real 1985 went back to 1931 in your time machine and you got put in prison. I got called back to save you and when I did all hell seemed to break loose. Then when everything was sorted and we were going to return the you from the other universe vanished right in front of my eyes.' The story did sound unbelievable now that he thought about it. Marty had not had time to just sit and think about what had happened. Relaying it now and seeing the look of pity and disbelief on Doc's face was what hit the unreality home. 'Ah come on don't look at me like that, Doc. Like you don't remember when you were that age. Everybody remembers their teenage years because everything around them changed and you forged friendships that stayed with you forever. Ah ha! There was a guy you met. Now you've got to remember this one. He called himself Michael Corleone, but you didn't believe him. The night of the fire when you and Danny Parker uncovered the second speakeasy. Don't you remember? Ah you've got to Emmett! You didn't see him again after that adventure with Kid Tannen. Come on, Doc! Before he left he gave you a piece of paper with the words 'do not open until 1985' on it. Now I don't know whether you have read it or whether you even kept it. All I know is that you remember it. Deep down inside that big old brain of yours, you remember Michael Corleone…' Despair was what was keeping Marty telling his story. Despair and a sense of duty. 'I was Michael, Doc. You won't believe me, but you always told me that truth was the best policy and here I am sticking to your goddamn morals. But really I never left you Doc. I'm always going to be there for you. Your friend in time, Doc.' Still Doc's face lay still, but Marty kept going. 'Now from what I…we have experienced from things vanishing and changing on us that means that time is shifting. I came back to see what had happened and this world…' Marty pointed past Doc and to the darkness of the outside world, the sun having now completely set. The lights that lined the walls were illuminating themselves, their brightness growing in intensity as the outside world descended into night. 'The world I helped to create was what I saw. Your timeline and everything else got all screwed up, Doc. And it's all my fault. And I am going to change that, but I need your help, Doc. It has to change Doc and you've got to believe me when I say that all you have created is not real.' There was a short silence which seemed to last forever. If only this Doc would believe him…

'But if what you say is true with all this changing time…then who is to say what is real and what is not? Why is it that _this_ world has any less of a right to be the "real world" as your own?'

'What? That's not the point at all. That's jus…'

'I think it is very much the point, Martin. If this 'Doc' and you went time travelling and things have changed and you _know_ that they have, then why can't you accept this world as being another possibility where things work out? Maybe your world wasn't right. What if nothing is?' Marty couldn't believe what this man was saying. He was turning it all on its head. 'What I have strived to do since I returned from war is to make this world better for everyone. Sure it may not be the world that is preferable to you because it is different to your own, but it is a better world from what it was before. And surely that means that this reality _is_ right.'

'But you don't see. You are not listening. You can't do this to me, Doc.'

'Martin, I can do as I wish. You may not like that I am leading this part of our world but somebody has to be at the top and in this reality it happens to be me. I class your tale as just that. A fancy story made to delight children when they are young. Just a story.' Marty stared at the old man. He felt like he was back in school with Mr Strickland breathing down his neck. He felt like he was being told off by his parents for setting fire to the living room rug. He felt like he had been beaten. It felt like there was no way in which Marty could say anything to convince this man that he was wrong. He was shot down every time. 'Now this meeting is adjourned. Two guards will be awaiting you outside to escort you out of the building quietly and without fuss. You had better buck your ideas up or next time I won't be so lenient with the power at hand.' Doc's voice pierced Marty's hopes. There it was. His chance gone and the man he admired had vanished from existence. Marty took one last look at the man he once believed in more than anything. Doc stared back at Marty with complete control and power in his eyes. The Doc and his state had won and he knew it. Marty shook his head as he turned to head to the oak door and his way out. He jumped down the small platform, not wanting to take the steps. He could feel Doc watching his every move. But then something struck Marty and he stopped halfway between the desk and the door.

'But are you happy?' There was a stunned silence. Marty turned. A thoughtful look upon his face. Doc hadn't been expecting the question.

'Yes. I have the world at my feet and everything to aid those in my power to betterment.' He replied after a stutter.

'But are you _really _happy?' Marty persisted.

'Am I happy in this other world of yours?' Doc joked, pulling his hands up from the desk and leaning back, crossing them behind his head. He pulled his feet up and lay them on the desk top, also crossed. The look in Doc's eyes was almost smug. This only spurred Marty on.

'Beyond happy. You have two great sons. Jules and Verne. Named after…'

'My favourite novelist…'

'Exactly. And you have a lovely wife.'

'Edna?'

'Far from it. Her name is Clara. You met her on one of our travels in time. And that time machine! You can go everywhere with it! Everywhen! You're the happiest man alive, Doc! Now that's what I call truly having the world at your feet. Not sitting in your office away from the people who supposedly need you. They'd be better off without you….' And the cold silence resumed. Doc got up from his seat and walked around the front of his desk. He stepped down from the platform and moved closer to Marty. They stood side by side. The look in Doc's eyes were like serpents.

'How dare you? This world has benefited from what this little town has done. All because of the tireless work that everybody here puts in because of me! These lies that you have cavorted around my office, wasting my valuable time. What is the point?'

'Because of what you said about me when I first came into this office today. Now I don't matter and it doesn't matter that you addressed me as just another rat caught in your trap but it does for the people of your town. If any of what I have just said has affected you in the slightest then maybe it will stop you being the man who said I was insignificant. In the other world, the Doc I know didn't see anybody as unimportant. Everybody was special, everybody was unique and everybody mattered. If what I have just said brings you any closer to being that man who sees the good in everybody and not what needs to be controlled then what just happened matters.'

'GET OUT!' Doc stared at Marty one last time and then to the large oak door which led out of his office. The two guards that he had mentioned earlier had burst into the room. 'Get this citizen out of my sight and make sure he gets the proper attention that is due to his kind.' Doc nodded as the two guards came nearer. Then Marty remembered something else. He had the time to do it. He reached into one of the suit pockets and produced the slightly burnt green bow tie that Emmett had given him back in 1931. He pulled it from his pocket and threw it towards Doc. It fell to the floor, Doc's eyes following it. Then Marty crunched up. The impact of the two massive guards hit him as they grabbed Marty and pushed his arms behind his back just as they had done earlier. Marty had wanted to avoid this and he had given up the chance to walk away after Doc had first shouted at him. But it was his pride that had kept him there. His pride and hope had made him stay to the point of being dragged from the office looking back to the man who had just doomed the entire world. He had taken every chance he could and it had still made no difference. Everything was lost and just as before everything went black…

-x-x-x-

Thank you so much for reading this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.

Author's apology: Right, I owe you this one. This is the first chapter of my BTTF fanfic that I have posted in a long time. My first excuse is a-levels. This year I completed my a-levels and obviously dedicated myself completely to those. My second excuse is that I was supposed to then put the next chapter up in June, but my computer died which meant I had to get a new one. Then after trying to transfer, I found that I had lost all my notes on this. It has taken me a few days to remember things and make it all link up as before. My sincerest apologies. Hoping that you enjoy this road we are going along. Xxx


	8. Where there is hope

A siren blared like a fog horn and Marty was brought crashing back to reality. It was coming from so far away but it felt like someone was blaring it straight into his ear. Finally, the siren withdrew to a humble silence. Marty tried to open his eyes. He could feel that he was lying face down on a comparatively comfortable surface, his face smashed into the coarse material, his left leg hanging over the edge of whatever he lay on, precariously balancing him. He turned his head to his left, which required all of his concentration, to try and discover where the hell he was. The result wasn't pleasing. With another massive effort, he tried to push himself up from what he discovered was a fairly standard rickety metal bed. He pushed himself into a sitting position. Both legs just about touching the floor, his back slightly hunched allowing him to lean his elbows on his knees, head in hands. Whatever those guys had done this time, it had been worse than before. He rubbed the right side of his head which stung with the contact of his hands. Marty moaned. What the hell had they done? Introduced his head to a brick?

As Marty began to recover, he started to try and take in his surroundings. See where the hell they had dumped him. He looked around and discovered that he found himself in a small grey cube of a room. The bed on which he sat was pushed up against the back wall. There was a small grey box wardrobe in the far corner and a small metal bin. Otherwise, the room was empty apart from a rather ominous camera which hung from the ceiling, just like the ones he had seen in the town square earlier. The door stood in the opposite wall to the bed. There was a small intercom-like machine attached to the door. A little red light on it pierced Marty's vision. Then next to the door was a large window, probably not made of glass. The view didn't fill Marty with any wonder. It just showed another blank grey wall. Everything there was grey, just like the rest of Doc's world.

Marty rubbed his eyes, trying to bring them back to proper working order. Maybe they'd punched him there too. Sure felt like it.

Suddenly, the siren went off again. This time the noise sounded closer. Almost like it was getting nearer with each ring. The siren stopped again, much to Marty's relief. Marty suddenly realised that he had been stripped down to just his shirt and trousers. The old jacket that he had borrowed from his dad's wardrobe in the real 1985 must have been searched and taken from him. Marty tumbled haphazardly over to the wardrobe and in delight found the jacket inside, looking like it had been ironed. His shoes sat neatly under the hanging jacket. Not bad. Staying in the grey would sure as hell make his laundry smoother.

Marty was drawn from his search of his jacket when the siren went off again but it sounded like it was coming from outside of his room. He quickly slammed the door of the wardrobe shut and span round to see through the glass that a familiar figure stood outside. Jennifer Parker stood by the door looking to the floor before finally turning to realise Marty was looking at her. She pressed a button on the intercom and her voice started to blare into his room.

'Martin McFly, are you awake?' Jennifer's voice called. Why was she asking? She could see him through the glass.

'Jen, you can see me. Look.' Marty went up to the window and started tapping on the pane.

'Step away from the window, Martin or I'll call for back up.' Her voice was piercing and harsh.

'Back up? Jen, where am I and what is this place?'

'Martin, sit down…'

'Jen, I need to talk to y..'

'Sit down, Martin…' The look in her eyes was intense. It was a definite order. Marty looked at her and backed away from the window and went to sit back on the bed. But within that order, Marty had heard something else. Something weak and vulnerable. Was she scared of him?

'Now will you answer my questions?' Marty asked. Jennifer had recovered her composure and had now moved into view in the window pane. Hand still pressed firmly on the intercom button. There was a short silence. Almost like Jennifer was considering ignoring him.

'You are within the Central block of the CCI, Martin.'

'CCI? And what is that?'

'The Citizen's Correction Institute, Martin. There are bases like this scattered around Hill Valley and its surrounding area. You know the structures Doctor Brown put in place? The projects that were signed off but no one knew what they were for? Well this is one of them. This institute is one of the many that Doctor Brown commissioned to make things better.' Marty shook his head. Jennifer didn't sound like she believed in these places. It sounded like she was just reeling off a pre-conceived script to routinely repeat when asked awkward questions. Did that mean that she didn't really know what was happening here or was she just as much a part of it as Doc now was? Marty didn't know. Marty didn't think he wanted to. 'Martin, why are you still pretending not to know anything? You're not doing yourself any favours.' Jennifer looked at him with pity and misunderstanding. They couldn't communicate.

'I'm not pretending, Jennifer. If only you knew…'

'Well I don't. And if you're going to continue in this fashion then I will just go on my way. I have a hundred more patients to check up on.'

'Patients?'

'The people who oppose the law of Hill Valley. You are sick, Martin. The CCI will make you all better and can reintroduce you into society as a respectable citizen.' Jennifer's belief in what she was saying terrified Marty. Maybe she really was a part of it. He'd lost her too. 'And it will make you better, Martin. For both of our sakes.' Jennifer looked sad. Their partnership had been forged by the state but Marty's actions were ruining her hope in it. She composed herself again and looked straight to Marty. 'Now that is all I wanted of you. Goodbye, Martin.' She turned from his cell and began to walk away. Marty leapt up from the bed and pressed the small button on his side of the intercom. A small siren rang from the other side of his door.

'Jennifer? Jennifer, come back. Please. I need to talk to you. Jennifer?' Marty shouted. He could hear his voice as it bounced around the grey walled corridor outside. But there was no sign of Jennifer. She'd walked off and left him in the most boring room in the world to await his fate, whatever that might be. His conversation with Doc had been insightful. He'd seen what was wrong with this world and that there wasn't a way of saving it. Not anymore. And now the person he hoped could listen had walked away. Back in the real 1985, Jennifer would have listened to him forever. Even if it was about his crappy band or moaning about his family, she would always listen. Not now. Not anymore.

Then Marty heard footsteps. Maybe this world _did_ have a chance…

Jennifer reappeared in front of the pane of glass and stood staring at Marty. Here was his salvation. She pressed the intercom.

'You have one chance…' She said. Now that Jennifer stood in front of him, standing as his world's only chance of survival, Marty didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her everything. He had always been able to tell her everything back in the right timeline. She was his saviour. And now that she had the potential of becoming that one person again, he couldn't think what to say.

'Um…right. Well…'

'Starting off well, Martin.'

'You're not going to believe me.'

'Try me.' Marty considered what to say and how to phrase the truth into something feasible.

'This world…this world isn't…right. The whole world has gone wrong and it's all my fault.' He felt like he was just repeating himself. All that he had said to Doc. He was hoping it all didn't fall on deaf ears again.

'What do you mean by 'wrong'?'

'I can't explain to you properly. You'll think I'm crazy or something.'

'Like I said, try me.' Jennifer stepped closer to the window. There was an innocence in her eyes. Like a small child about to be told that the world was revolving beneath their feet. An inconceivable truth for a child at that age. And here was Marty about to unleash his inconceivable truth. A truth that mattered.

'I am from an alternate 1985. A different timeline where things in Hill Valley are…are different. There isn't a wall surrounding the town, there isn't a CCI building which would rival the grey areas of Tannen's brain…' Marty said turning in his room to show his point. It was awfully grey.

'Is there war in your world?' Jennifer chipped in.

'There has been war.'

'There isn't war here.' Jennifer proclaimed as if she were winning the moral battle.

'There will _always_ be war. In my travels with Doc, there always seems to be some form of conflict and I'm afraid that is never going to change. War is eternal. But in that world everything is better. And I mean everything…' She looked doubtful. Like she was refusing to believe that the world was spinning. She was denying Marty the future and all in the absence lies.

'You are not justifying yourself, Martin. You speak on a grand scale as if your world is all bright and shining. But to me it sounds like the hell that Doctor Brown saved us all from. Goodbye, Martin.' She went to leave. Walking down the long, grey corridor. Her point approved.

'It's better for us…' Marty shouted through the intercom. Maybe that would make her listen.

Again, he heard the footsteps return.

'Us? Martin, Citizen Partnership has rated us at a 95% compatibility rating. We are destined to be together.'

'And it's talk like that which shows that in this world we are most certainly not destined. In the other world we just fell in love. We weren't forced together and hoped that it worked. Sure this percentage crap may show that whatever way time turns we are to be together. Whatever world. But it is through choice that we find the ones we are truly meant to be with. And in my world…our world, that's what happened. And…' Marty paused a second.' I love you, Jen. The Jennifer in my world is gorgeous, like you, and can be so kind, like you, because she listens to me.'

'So why can't we continue our lives under the CP scheme? Just stay in here and get better and then with some persuasion I can ask my father to get you out. And we can be happy…' Jennifer had moved closer to the glass. Her palms touching it.

'Because there is one thing that is so different about both of our worlds that I know which world I want to be in.' Jennifer looked at Marty.

'And what is that?'

'Jennifer always smiles. I haven't seen you smile once…' Jennifer stared at him. Unblinking. Confused. 'And that is what is wrong with this place and those who submit to it, Jennifer.' Marty was up to the window. Hoping that Jennifer would just react. There was a long silence. Marty could see Jennifer working it out. She was torn. He had driven her to this. What he was doing wasn't fair, but nothing ever was. If it meant getting the real 1985 back, then he'd do anything. Jennifer went to push the button on the intercom when a buzzing came from the radio on her belt. Both Marty and Jennifer jumped.

'I need to get this, Martin.' She walked down the corridor and held the radio to her ear. Marty couldn't hear what was being said. He could just see Jennifer pacing up and down. She kept nodding as if the person on the other end could see her. Her face was always down to the floor. What was she hiding? After a few minutes, the conversation ended and Jennifer returned the radio to her belt. Jennifer returned to Marty's cell and went to push the intercom button. Eyes still to the floor.

'Jennifer?' Marty enquired. What was wrong? Was she ok? He got his answer soon enough. Jennifer lifted her head and Marty could see that a tear had made its way down her cheek and still more tears were circling her eyes. 'Jennifer, what's wrong? What's the matter?' It took her a few seconds to be able to look Marty in the eye. She finally reached for the intercom. She took a deep breath.

'Martin Seamus McFly. By the powers invested in me by the State of Hill Valley, I have been given the solemn duty to inform you that you have been…' Jennifer stumbled over her words as tears began to pour. 'You have been condemned to death for acts of treason and other such crimes pertaining to your recent actions.' Marty didn't know what to think. He stood still, completely shocked. He looked to Jennifer who had turned away from Marty and was wiping her tears away. She began to walk away. Unable to look at the man she loved.

'Treason? What the hell did I do? Who authorised this crap?' No answer. 'Jennifer? I said who has sold me down the river? Jennifer!' Marty shouted through the intercom and still the girl walked on. Marty kept calling after her. What the heck had happened? Just over a day before he had been at home, excited about the day because he could finally take Jennifer to the lake. Now she had just issued his death warrant and was walking into the darkness of the grey world in which he now found himself condemned. Marty turned from the window and slumped to the floor, leaning against the wall. What had he gotten into?

Then the buzz of the intercom reawakened his spirits.

'It was Doctor Brown, Martin.' Marty's heart sank. She can't have said what he thought he had heard. It just wasn't possible. Marty pushed himself up from the floor. Despair and disbelief sapping most of his energy.

'I won't believe it. I don't believe you.' Marty shook his head. Doc can't have done that to him. After all he'd said. After everything they'd been through. Jennifer reached to her radio and held it up to the window. There was a small screen which read: 'Last message: First Citizen Doctor Brown'. Marty stared at the red letters which blazoned his worst fear upon Marty's heart. All was lost. The man who Marty was depending on to help him get reality back had just sentenced him to death and Marty's girlfriend had been the one to break the news. Light was fading. Marty turned from Jennifer and fell back against the wall and slumped to the floor again.

'I'm sorry, Martin.'

'This is it, isn't it?'

'What, Martin?'

'I'm always getting into scrapes. Never been one for luck really. All the bad things fall onto my plate. My travels with Doc have opened up so many possibilities to what we can do with our lives and yet the bad always comes back to kick us in the teeth. I thought travelling through time would be a blessing. How stupid. It's nothing but a burden. Everything can go wrong in the blink of an eye and as soon as your back is turned you suffer the consequences. This time things went too far. I've lost everything. Everything…' Marty had given up. He hung his head in his hand and stared at the grey floor. He didn't like the idea that one of the last things he would see was the inside of the institute. It was so drab and dull. He'd have at least hoped that he was going to die having a good time or doing something courageous or something. He wondered how they'd do it. No doubt Doc had come up with some ingenious way to make the victim feel like they deserved it. That's what Marty regretted the most. He'd never been able to persuade Doc of the truth. Not even the bow tie had changed anything. And now Doc was his executioner. All was ended.

Then Marty heard a click. His head snapped up and fixed on the slowly opening door. Marty was confused but did as his brain instructed and quickly leapt up from the floor. Jennifer stepped in to his room.

'Get dressed and listen to me.' Marty stared at her in disbelief. With a nod of her head, Jennifer referred to the wardrobe, hinting to Marty that she meant what she said. Marty ran to wardrobe and donned the jacket and put on his shoes. They were a little too big, being his dad's, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

'What are you doing, Jennifer?'

'I want you to get out of here. Run away. Get over the border and find another town to live in. Find somewhere safe and I will come and join you there. Be careful. You have a price on your head. You're right. Hill Valley shouldn't be like this.'

'But us leaving won't solve the problem. I'm sorry, Jennifer, but I have to go to Doc. He's the only one who can make things right.'

'If you go to Doctor Brown, he'll have you killed on sight. He put you in here for a reason and he sentenced you for one too. He won't listen to you Martin. He didn't before.'

'Well, he'll just have to now. Is there any way of me getting to see him quietly?' Marty enquired looking out at the corridor. Who knew where each strip of it led?

'As soon as you step across the threshold of this room, the alarms will go off. Patient escaped. He'll know you're heading for him.'

'Patient escaped? How do they know?'

'There is a small chip sewn into your shirt. They will know you've left here as soon as the threshold is crossed. They'll also be able to pick you up on the cameras.'

'I'll just have to run then, won't I?' Marty smiled trying to reassure Jennifer and himself. Finally, the fire of the chase. 'Are you coming with me?'

'No, I'd better stay here. I still have a duty to perform.' Jennifer walked closer to Marty. 'I hope this world of yours is worth it. When they find out that I let you out, things won't be good for me here, Martin.'

'I won't let you down, Jennifer. I promise. And like I said, call me Marty.'

'Good luck…Marty.' Jennifer leaned in and kissed his forehead. She stepped back. Looking incredibly timid. Eyes to the floor. Marty pulled her into a hug and kissed her tenderly. A kiss can speak more than a thousand words. A kiss that meant the world and now time would tell whether he would experience that kiss again. Marty pulled away first. If he didn't leave now then he never would.

'Thank you, Jennifer. Everything will be alright.' He gave her a quick kiss before tugging down his jacket and running through the open door. A loud blaring alarm resounded throughout the corridors as Marty ran through the labyrinthine maze. Red lights flashed intermittently, dousing the corridors in the vile stench of cynicism. All Marty had to do was find his way out of the maze and make his way to Doc's office without being caught. However, Marty feared that was when the real challenge began. The meeting between two old friends would bring about despair or the deliverance of a dream. Marty was well aware which would be more probable, but there was always hope. Where there is life, there's hope. And Marty ran into the blaring red lights to confront the future, whatever it might hold.

-x-x-x-

Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed!

Author's apology: Alright, I really owe you this one. It has been so long since I last uploaded a chapter that I genuinely can't remember when it was. So much has been happening since I last updated this story. Hopefully this is a bit of reassurance to say that I have not given up on this story. I will finish it! It's just a matter of when. I am at university now. So just expect a chapter if you see it. Hehe. Thank you all for being so patient. Could not do it without your support. Much love to you. Hope you had an epic Christmas and have a wonderful New Year.


	9. A new hope

Marty ran along the corridors. Weaving around the labyrinth of grey walls which all looked the same to him. The red siren was flashing and casting scarlet shadows around the grey walls. He passed though doors, thinking he'd ran through them before. Half the time he felt like he was going round in circles. He was scared he'd run into a band of guards sent to control the escape. What would happen if he was caught? Was there somewhere worse than the CCI?

As he ran through the corridors, he passed the windows of other cells. He was trying to find his parents. He would come back to them once he'd confronted Doctor Brown. He would save them. But he couldn't find them. Not in any of the windows he ran past. In some there were people banging against the windows, wondering what the alarms were for. Soundless cries for help which Marty could not attend to. He wanted to save them, but he couldn't. Not everyone can be saved. Some were lying on the stone hard beds, hands clasped tightly around their ears, trying to shut the world out. Some rooms were empty but Marty wondered how long it would be before they were filled.

Finally, Marty came to a halt. The sirens were still blaring and he could hear shouting, but he couldn't have run much further. He had come to a dead end. No way out. Marty leant against one of the walls, trying to catch his breath.

'Come on, man! Give us a break!' He tried to shout over the shrill call of the sirens, but they did not obey his commands. Nothing in this world seemed willing to succumb to any of Marty's hopes. He began to question whether his motives were ever strong enough. He knew that he needed to get Doctor Brown to believe him, then build a time machine which he would drive back to 1931 alone and try to sort out the mess he had created. One hell of a tall order. Was it attainable? Marty was beginning to doubt that it was. His main obstacle was Doctor Brown. Without him, everything was impossible.

All of a sudden, the lights stopped flashing and the sirens trickled into silence. Marty sighed with relief as a small ray of light appeared in Marty's darkening world. He had imagined that confronting this world's Doc would be the hardest thing he'd have to do. Finding his way out of the labyrinth hadn't even crossed his mind.

Marty sat staring at the dead end. Pretty much summed up his life at the moment. He pushed himself from the wall and walked, lazily, over to the wall that stood in front of him. It was the same colour as the other walls in the underground maze. Grey and black. Black?

Marty didn't recall seeing that anywhere else. Grey had proclaimed rule over every surface. There must have been something different about the wall. There were no discernible features except the black markings. No buttons or switches nearby and of course, no door handle. How Marty would long for a door handle. So Marty decided to take matters into his own hands. He retraced his steps back to the opposing wall and with every piece of will he could find, he charged at the grey and black wall. Just as he approached it, a panel detached itself from the main body of the wall and slid aside. Marty almost cheered with joy at the light emerging into the dark, but he couldn't stop the momentum that he'd built in the run up. He flew through the portal and tumbled onto the floor with an almighty thud. Marty landed face down on the soft carpet that covered the floor. He pushed himself up, unsure of where he'd come out. It could have been anywhere. He hadn't been picked up yet, so he was pretty certain he was alone, but where? Marty scratched his head. He'd hit the floor pretty hard on entry and needed to get used to his surroundings.

After a few seconds of sitting upright and becoming accustomed to the new room, Marty realised where he was. The door had come out in Doctor Brown's office. The large clock face which stood behind the desk ticked relentlessly onwards and cast huge shadows over the room. The sombre atmosphere of reserved power laced every piece of furniture and hung silently for all to fall into. Marty had fallen through a secret door. The open panel was nestled between some book cases. By the time Marty turned to look back, the door was closing of its own accord. A small light switch by the side of the panel beeped as the door locked itself shut. The spark of invention sat firmly as the entrance to the maze of enforced cells below. Marty picked himself up and dusted himself off, making sure that there weren't too many bruises. He also fumbled the jacket pockets. His hands lingered over the pocket which held Doc's notebook and his wallet. Marty started to look around. There was no sign of Doctor Brown. He wasn't sitting in his chair on the platform and he wasn't entering the room. Where was he? Maybe he'd gone to see what the commotion was when the alarms had gone off. No doubt the entirety of central Hill Valley knew of the escape.

Then he heard a low moan coming from behind the large desk. Marty cautiously peeked round the platform on which the desk stood, only to see the still form of Doctor Brown lying face down on the floor. Marty ran over to the body and checked for life signs. He could feel the old man's pulse from his wrist. Thank God he was still alive. For a moment, all of Marty's hopes had felt like they were slipping away. Marty rolled the man on to his back. There was a nasty cut across his forehead which was bleeding slightly but wasn't serious. Marty didn't know what to do. He had to wake the old man up.

'Doc? Doc? Can you hear me? Doc?' Marty whispered. He tried to shift the old man onto his shoulder so that he was leaning against Marty. Slowly the old man's eyes began to flicker open and he started to mumble incoherently. Marty tried to help him into a sitting position with great difficulty. The blow to the head may have done more harm than it appeared. 'Doc? What happened?'

'The name is Doctor and you'd do well to remember that.' The old man's voice was stern and angry. Marty almost considered leaving. This wasn't going to work. But he decided against it. Jennifer had presented him with one last chance and he was going to take it.

Doctor Brown's eyes opened fully and started to focus on his surroundings, slowly pulling him back to the world. 'Martin? Is it you? How did you get here? You were in the CCI.' Doc started to pull away. 'I'm not imagining you, am I? I could be with this almighty knock to the head. How did you get out?' He sounded exasperated. Like he couldn't quite differentiate between dream and reality, whatever reality was. Marty was constantly having that problem since travelling with Doc.

'I've got friends in high places.' Marty tried to pass it off. He didn't know how much he could tell Doctor Brown. After all, the man had thrown him in to the CCI. Marty started to help the slowly recovering Doctor Brown to the platform on which his desk stood. If he had something to lean against he was less likely to fall back into an unconscious state. But Doctor Brown was recovering quickly and even pushing himself up against the platform. Partly, Marty thought, through recovering strength and yet also through fear. Marty had escaped from the inescapable with a little help from Jennifer. Maybe Marty could use this against the main in charge of this world. He had to use something.

'What are you doing here?' Doctor Brown grabbed a hold of Marty's collar. His large eyes were locked onto Marty's; almost pleading. Marty realised he had arrived at the reason he was there. The reason why he had tricked Jennifer into letting him out, the reason he had run through hell and the only chance he had of getting anything from this world. He couldn't save it, but he could try to understand it.

'I want to know, Doc. And I don't give a crap that you're Doctor now or whatever. I need to know why you don't care about this world of yours. I need to know why you turned it into hell on goddamn earth.'

'Obstreperous youth.' Doc chuckled mockingly to himself. Why was he laughing? This wasn't the time for humour. This was serious.

'You sent me to the cells Doc and then, then you sentenced me to execution. You were gonna have me killed, Doc.' Marty had said it. When Jennifer had told him back in the cell, he hadn't quite been able to believe it. Saying it out loud had finally allowed him to accept the enormity of this world. It was nothing like the real 1985. Yeah, the buildings looked the same and so did the people, but it was what was on the inside that counted. Without heart, this reality wasn't Hill Valley.

'I sent you to the cells for…for your own safety.' Doctor Brown said sincerely. His grip slipped to hold one of Marty's hands. His eyes looking into those of the boy from 1985. Promising a potential truth.

'My safety?' Marty pulled his hand from Doctor Brown's grip. The old man's hand fell to the floor. He was still quite weak, but regaining strength every second.

'Down there you wouldn't have been dealt with for some time. There is a waiting list for treatment and the system is very officious. You wouldn't have been attended to for a long time. You'd have been kept warm and fed and safe until I could have come down to rescue you.' Doctor Brown insisted.

'But the execution?'

'An unexpected occurrence which was beyond my control. I couldn't stop it Martin. I'm sorry…' Again, the pleading eyes looked to Marty for acceptance.

'You've changed your tune.' Marty muttered. Doc nodded his head slightly. He had changed. He hoped for the better. Maybe there was something of the man Marty knew in this world's version. Maybe there was that essential principal of a person which existed in every reality. Maybe that's what makes us who we are. These along with the memories we share are what make us able to conquer our battles and stand proud of who we have been. Marty looked at this world's Doc. He could see his old mentor in the features of the man lying in front of him. Or perhaps it was all a lie, acted out for his benefit? Marty had to be wary.

Doctor Brown began to push himself up so that he wasn't leaning against the platform. Marty attempted to help, but Doctor Brown shrugged him off. Then, he delved his hand into his jacket pocket. He pulled out the slightly singed green bow tie, which Marty had thrown as bait before being dragged from the room and sent into the darkness. Marty's eyes flashed in disbelief. Doctor Brown's hand was shaking slightly as he placed the bow tie in Marty's outstretched hand. Both men looked at the impossible object.

'Hello Mr Corleone.' Doctor Brown's smile seemed to fill the room with light. Marty's relief was almost immeasurable.

'You remember me.'

'I've only given one green tie to anyone in my life.' Doctor Brown held out a hand for Marty to help him to his feet. Marty grabbed hold and with a tremendous effort helped his emerging mentor so that he now leant against his desk. Doctor Brown was slowly getting to his feet. 'Your face was always familiar when I'd see you on parade or when you collected your prizes. I never could make the connection though. Then today when you threw this old thing at me, everything clicked into place. Like a jigsaw puzzle. It was quite extraordinary. It was like something that had been missing all my life and there it was staring me right in the face all the time. Memories are powerful things when reawakened.'

'But you sentenced me to death, Doc. If you remembered me, why was I going to die? And don't try and get round it by saying it wasn't you. Jennifer told me…' Shit!

'Jennifer? As in Jennifer Parker? Is she the one who let you out?

'Is she going to be in trouble?

'I can't promise you that she'll be safe.' Doctor Brown answered sincerely. Both men understood that this world wasn't kind and not everybody would come out untouched.

'She showed me the pager and it was your name. Explain that.'

'It's Edna, Martin. I promise you. She's gone crazy. I don't know what's gotten into her. As soon as I'd sent you to the cells, she stormed in and lectured me on my ethics. I think she could tell you'd turned me from my own cause. She forced me to get rid of you or she'd…well…maybe that's for another time. Suffice to say, if I hadn't done that, things would be a whole lot worse.' Worse? How could things be worse? It didn't matter now. All that did was Marty's plan. Light had shone on it once again and now the boy from the real 1985 could see a way of getting it back. A new hope was emerging.

'We need to stop her.'

'Agreed, but how? She's taken control of my guards and has declared me too sick for duty. They'll believe it too with this cut on my head.'

'Yeah, how did you get that?'

'When the alarm went off, I was about to make my way down to the CCI to find you. Edna stormed in with some guards. There was a heated argument which ended in a declaration that I had gone insane and one of the guards was told to silence me. The next thing I remember is hearing you calling my name.' Doctor Brown's story sounded legitimate, but Marty still had questions. He had been deceived before and he wasn't about to let the words coat a potential deception in a plausible truth. Marty looked on Doctor Brown with plain judgement.

'Why should I believe you?' Doc looked slightly shocked by the question. Hadn't the bow tie and naming of his alter-ego back in 1931 been enough?

'You have my word, Martin, and my word is all I have.' There was a moment of silence. Neither men spoke but looked to one another in the hope of belief. After what seemed like forever, Marty held his right hand out to his mentor. Doctor Brown smiled and shook Marty's hand. An understanding had been found.

'Right. Let's get this show on the road. The only way we can stop this is to follow my plan.'

'Not this nonsense again.' Doctor Brown pushed himself up from the desk and now started to wander around his desk, testing his balance. He grabbed some tissues from a box on the table and pressed them to his forehead to staunch the still bleeding cut on his head.

'Hey, it isn't nonsense, Doc. It's all true. There is a part of you that believed me and that is what Edna is scared of. If you want to get back on top of all this, if you want to change the world, and I mean really change it, we have to follow my plan.'

'And what is your plan? Change the world? An awfully tall order for a boy and an old man like me.'

'First things first. I've got to get my folks out of your CCI. Now while it won't matter where they are when everything goes back to being normal, just in case things don't turn out ok, I need them safe. You got it?' Doctor Brown nodded. 'I'll go back in to the CCI and get them to safety. Then I'll meet you next to the statue in the centre of Hill Valley, ok?'

'And what, may I ask, am I supposed to do?' Doctor Brown's gaze pierced Marty. Some of this world's man was creeping back. Here was the moment that could turn the tables for Marty's world's chances.

'Now, Doc, the next part is crucial and it all depends on you.'

'No pressure.' Doctor Brown scoffed moving toward Marty. Marty sighed and pulled Doc's notebook from his pocket and held it close to him. It was like a prized possession and one of the only things that he had left of Doc from his reality. Like the DeLorean, it was a symbol. To give it up was difficult.

'What is this?' Doctor Brown asked, pointing to the book. Marty reluctantly handed over the hopes of his reality to the semi-Doc. The old man removed the elastic band, which held the volume of spare bits of scribbled on paper within the original leather over, and opened it up. 'Why, this is my handwriting. Bu..but how?' Doctor Brown asked, astonished.

'Told you I was telling the truth.' Doc started flicking through the pages. His eyes flashing in disbelief and delight. 'This is his notebook. Full of all the crazy and wonderful things that came from that head of his. Including time travel.' Doc had reached the page with the flux capacitor on it. The image that had changed the world. 'You're the only one who would be able to decipher it.'

'So what are you asking of me, Martin? Create a time machine?' He stared at Marty, hoping he'd say no, but that response never came. Doctor Brown scoffed at the impossibility of it all. His brain started working, like the clockwork that framed his office, considering what needed to be done. 'It would require an incredible amount of time, money and energy.' All problems that Marty had considered, but that wasn't the worst bombshell he'd have to drop on his potential mentor.

'And you're going to have to do it alone. It's what the Doc did.'

'But I'm not your Doc. At the point in time where you went back, our timelines split. Everything that created your Doc after that point probably doesn't exist in me. We don't have the same mind set. These scribbles could mean nothing to me. What if I never understand it? What if it doesn't work? What if…'

'And what if you never tried?'

'But this is real, Martin. What you've said…all along it's been real and there is now a very real responsibility on my shoulders. What if I can't do it?' Doctor Brown had found the heart of the problem. What if he couldn't do it? What if Doc's writings were as much funny scribbles to him as they were to Marty? He couldn't allow the only chance to save this world to doubt. Marty had to convince him that everything was possible, even though he didn't believe it himself.

'You're Doc Brown. Of course, you can do it. You can do anything if you put your mind to it.'

'You must trust your Doc very much.' Doctor Brown spoke solemnly, tucking the notebook into his inside pocket.

'Trust him with my life.'

'And you're willing to exchange that responsibility and trust onto my shoulders?'

'You're just a different version of Doc. Sure, like you said, there was a point, back in 1931 where my Doc's timeline and your timeline split. This reality followed yours and created this world. I need to go back and change what went wrong and bring Doc back.'

'Surely one man can't be that important…'

'If there's one thing travelling with Doc has done, it's made me realise that everyone is important in their own way and after what this world has become, anything is better. I'm sorry.'

'No need. From what you've said, your world sounds fine. I can't wait to see it.' Marty felt a pang of regret. If all went to plan, Marty would return to 1931 alone. Doctor Brown would stay in this reality. The world would change and this man would never exist. This man who had created this alternate grey world, but a man who would also save Marty's reality. A good man who would be deleted from history. But Marty couldn't dwell on that now. Time was ticking by. Marty simply smiled at Doctor Brown and started running the plan through in his mind once more.

'I've left the DeLorean in the Lyons Estate. Do you know it?'

'I used to go walking before my thoughts turned solely to the company. The Lyons Estate was one of my favourite haunts, even before it was built, it was a wonderful walk.' Doctor Brown confirmed. He straightened out his jacket and kept dabbing at the cut on his forehead. It was beginning to heal.

'Good. Well, you can't miss the DeLorean…'

'A DeLorean? How fascinating. May I ask why I chose that model?'

'If you're going to travel through time, why not do it with some style.' Marty smiled inwardly, remembering that long ago night in Lone Pines Mall car park.

'I made a good choice.' Doctor Brown smiled. He started to walk towards the large oak doors that led to the outside world. 'I'll take it back to one of my labs.'

'Labs?' Marty interjected.

'Not all of the underground facilities are for the CCI, you know. A man must have his time alone to work on other projects.' Doc's mischievous smile crept onto the old man's face. This man had the streak of unexpected cunning in him that only Doc could muster.

'How come Edna doesn't know?'

'I hid my initial scientific longings from my father for many years, as you well recall. I could hide the world from Edna if I put my mind to it.' Doctor Brown winked and turned back to the large oak doors.

'Fantastic. Right, I'll meet you at the statue in about fifteen minutes from now. The notebook will explain how to plot coordinates. I'll see you in time.' Marty explained, turning to the spot on the wall where the magic door resided. But before Doctor Brown got to the doors, he stopped and looked to his feet. 'What's the matter?'

'This could be the last time I see you. Or at least the last time in a long time.' Marty hadn't considered this. He'd presumed he would get his parents and then meet Doctor Brown outside. It would be a cinch. He'd forgotten that a lot of time would pass before Doctor Brown would accomplish what was necessary. You couldn't build a time machine overnight. Doubt had not crawled that far into his thoughts. Doctor Brown walked back to Marty and shook his hand again. Marty withdrew from the handshake and, instead, hugged the man who stood in front of him. Doctor Brown was taken by surprise but wouldn't let go. This moment would mean the world one day. Two men in complete understanding of one another, both hiding their worries in hope that the other might believe all would be well. Marty pulled away from the hug. Didn't want this version of Doc thinking he was too sentimental. That would never do.

'Thank you Martin. Thank you for everything. Wish me luck.'

'Good luck!'

'See you in hell!' The Doc's wicked smile sparkled. He turned once more to the doors and left the room. Marty looked on. Marty considered how that moment could've been the last time he'd see the old man. Time would tell if they'd meet again. He only hoped his plan would work. It had to. There was nothing else but despair if the DeLorean didn't appear. Marty just had to hope.

He looked around the office one last time, taking in the splendour that this world's Doc had created for himself. He looked to the picture of Doctor Brown and Edna in their uniforms, looking out in judgement. It reasserted Marty's desire to change the world. Everything would change. It had to.

Marty wandered over to the panel of wall from which he had elegantly entered the room and pressed the light switch. The door slid open and revealed the mouth of the labyrinth into which Marty would fall. Marty stared into the silent darkness. Ahead lay Jennifer and his parent's safety. His world restored. His life back to the way it had been. His hope inspired him to believe that he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. And with that, he leapt into the darkness, reacquainting himself with it like an old friend.

-x-x-x-

Hello you wonderful people! Thank you so much for reading and I hope that you enjoyed it!

I am so sorry for the long wait again. Hopefully there will be another chapter up soon to keep you going for a few months as I enter into my exams period. Thank you so much for putting up with the long waits. All I can promise is that this storyline will lead us to the unexpected and hopefully a new understanding of this wonderful fandom. Thank you so much for reading and I hope to see you again soon!


	10. After the rise

Marty had entered the maze. The dark corridor from which he had escaped gladly swallowed its prey once more and trapped him in the closed world of underground subversion. Marty now had a new sense of hope. A feeling in his heart that things could work out. Doctor Brown wasn't a lost cause. He was a victim of the way time had turned just as much as Jennifer or his parents. They were all victims to time and Marty had been the one who had flicked the switch. Now it was his turn to switch it back.

Marty was going to find Jennifer. If he could find her then he could find his parents, get them to safety, meet Doctor Brown, take the DeLorean from him and go back and right his wrongs. Time would write over this universe if everything went to plan and the terrible things that had happened would linger only in his mind. It was a price he was willing to pay. If something was easy it wasn't worth doing. But Marty was glad that Doctor Brown's turn to the good side had made things simpler. He had given the world a chance.

Marty snuck down the labyrinth of corridors, hoping he wouldn't be caught. A few guards passed him by, all heading in the opposite direction to Marty, but none of them noticed him. He didn't need any unnecessary attention. Marty began to pick up his pace. He didn't have long until he had to meet Doctor Brown. He realised that he had given himself a short time frame in which to work but nothing made you work faster and better than pressure. He'd find Jennifer in no time.

After what felt like a lifetime of running through the same grey tunnels and passing the same cell windows, Marty came to a halt at a four way crossroads. A light hung above his head, casting a small pool of light for him to stand in. The light didn't stretch very far. It hit the sharp edged corners of the walls and was cut off by their allegiance to shadow. The light didn't stretch far into the gloom out of fear. Marty stood in the light, thankful for the slight change. He felt like the darkness was beginning to consume him. Marty looked at his watch. He'd be cutting it close now if he didn't want the DeLorean to be spotted and detained by Jennifer's peers.

She had to be down there but he couldn't find her. He probably would never find her if he continued aimlessly running. He could have driven himself deeper underground for all he knew. He spun on the spot, looking down each corridor. Each looking as welcoming as the others. Down one, however, something caught his eye. He could see something crumpled up against the wall. It was on the edge of the divide between Marty's light and darkness' eventual consumption. Everything was telling Marty to ignore it. There was no time to investigate. He probably couldn't help whatever it was anyway. But there was something pulling him towards it.

Slowly, he began to walk towards it. As he neared it, the shape became clearer. It was a figure. Legs sprawled out in front of it, back leant against the wall, neck bent so that its head was facing downwards. As Marty's eyes became accustomed to the dark once more, Marty feared the worse. The hair was familiar; the shape of the figure was unerring. He knew it. No. It couldn't be. Marty sped up. He kneeled down next to the figure and held the head in his hands and slowly brought it to face him. Even in the relative darkness he could tell it was her. It was Jennifer.

She was out cold. A large mark was beginning to flourish on her cheek and there was a trickle of blood running from her nose and mouth. She'd been knocked out cold. Marty was angry, but he had to suppress his anger. He had to get her to reply.

'Jen? Jennifer? Can you hear me? Can you hear my voice?' No reply. He could hear his voice echo around the corridors. He only hoped no one was hiding behind corners. 'Please Jennifer. Not you. Please.' Marty could hear his voice wobbling. He was pleading to the sleep that shrouded her. A futile act but he had to try. Without Jennifer, he had nothing to fight for.

Her breathing suddenly became heavier and more laboured. Marty pulled her closer to him. He hoped his warmth brought some comfort but the CCI seemed to sap every last vestige and feast upon it. Hope was all that dragged them forwards. He held her close. Wrapping his arms around her waist. He felt something wet. He pulled his hand away to find it covered in a dark red substance. It was blood. Jennifer's blood. He undid the uniform jacket and found a gash through the layers of fabric, all covered in the dark red coating. Marty did the only thing he could and began to push hard on the wound. Pressure would staunch the bleeding, wouldn't it? Whatever bastard had done this to Jennifer would pay.

'Come on Jennifer. Wake up. Please…' Then her eyelids began to flutter. Marty's heart seemed to go into overdrive. Blood seemed to flood his system. He could feel it in his ears, at his fingertips, in his heart. Maybe hope was all he needed…

'M…Martin…?' Jennifer muttered. She was alive. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes, when open, seemed to wander and be unable to keep focus.

'Jennifer? I'm here.' Marty couldn't help but smile. He'd thought she was gone.

'That's all I need to know.'

'Who did this to you?' Marty insisted. He would get to the bottom of this if it killed him.

'You won't like it.' She tried to chuckle through her heavy breathing. She flinched as Marty tried to keep the pressure down on the wound in her side, but she pulled away. Too painful to bear. He couldn't help her.

'Try me.'

'I…I will…not…tell…lies.' It sounded like something she had rehearsed a hundred times. Like lines written out so much that the words were emblazoned upon her thoughts. She forced the words out through her difficulty in breathing. Every word was another stab to the side. She had to stay strong for him.

'Lies? You wouldn't lie to me, now would you?' Marty joked. 'Not after all we've been through, eh? Jennifer, I can help you.' He insisted. He looked into her eyes. In the darkness, he could see only two black dots trying to find something to focus on but all to no avail. They looked lost.

'Doctor Brown….he…'

'He was with me. He's been with me the whole time. It was an act. He's going to save the world Jen and you and I can live together and be happy. Yeah? We're going to do that, aren't we?' Jennifer nodded her agreement. She smiled. Something that cheered Marty's deflating heart. She was trying so hard to keep him happy, but she didn't need to. He needed to be strong for her. Not the other way round. 'But I need you to tell me who did this to you first.'

After a few seconds of silence and irrefutable pain, Jennifer brought the name to her lips.

'Edna…' She whispered. Marty could feel the blood in his ears pounding at the mention of that woman's name. Edna had knocked down her husband and thrown down his girlfriend. She would not get away with this.

'She will pay, Jennifer, I promise. I just need to know where she is and she will regret ever having laid a finger on you. Do you hear me?' Marty positioned himself between Jennifer and the wall and allowed her head to lie on his shoulder. Marty placed his arms around her waist once more, still in an attempt to staunch the bleeding but also just to be with her. Marty felt a hand on his own. Jennifer had shifted slightly so that she was looking into his eyes. Her neck arched upwards, still supporting herself on Marty. Cradled in his arms.

'I love you, Martin.' Jennifer's eyes began to flicker closed. 'No, Jennifer. Still here. Still here. Remember the house. We'll go shopping for it. We'll buy plant pots and breadbins and things. You know I'm useless with all that stuff.' Marty joked, but he could see that Jennifer was giving in. 'You can't go to sleep now. We'll have that life remember? That perfect life in the other world. Together! Just the two of us, eh?' A tear was streaking its way down her cheek which Marty wiped away with his thumb.

'Can you tell me? Where is Edna?' He whispered into the darkness. His head flashing every way to make sure they weren't disturbed. Jennifer shrugged, but Marty needed to know. 'Remember lies have their foundations in truth but can bring down anybody who fosters them as their defence.'

'I…must…not…'

'And you won't. Jennifer, let me avenge you.'

'Your parents, Martin. She has your parents. I'm sorry. I tried to stop her. I _tried…_' And she went silent.

'Jennifer, NO!' She couldn't be! He checked her pulse. Nothing. He put his cheek against her mouth. No breath. Nothing. Jennifer was… No! Marty wouldn't believe it. He looked at her. Started whispering her name in her ear. No response. He kissed the top of her head and pulled himself away from her. He lay her down gently on the floor. Much more comfortable. He kissed her forehead and then her lips.

'We'd have been so happy.' Marty whispered in her ear. He picked himself up from the floor and began to walk back towards the light. He stood in it for a second and glanced back on the prone figure. Edna had killed Jennifer and she would regret ever laying a finger on her. All that mattered was that Jennifer was safe from whatever this world would bring about next. She would not feel the terror that gripped every heart. She was free.

Marty turned away with a new vigour that he had never imagined he would possess after what had just happened. He felt determined. Even more so than when he had left Doctor Brown. He knew exactly where Edna would be. He pitied her because she had no idea that he was coming. No idea…

-x-x-x-

Thank you for reading.

This is a bit of a shorter chapter and there are two reasons for this. Firstly, I felt that I needed to get some work to you guys before I head off into the cave of exam revision for a month. And secondly, this chapter and the next in my original plan were going to be one, but I changed this first part and thought that it deserved to be a stand-alone chapter.

Hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to the next bit. We're well within the second half of this particular story. Let me know what you think and I will see you soon! Take care. xxx


	11. There is always the fall

When only darkness surrounds you, the best you can look for is the light. It isn't always there. Not at first. When one abides in the dark, it consumes everything that was once in sight. Nothing else can exist there but you. And you're only allowed to survive so that the dark can infect you. However, once in a harvest moon, when the time is right, something enflames your hope. A match strikes and suddenly there is something to run for. Something that inspires you to get out of that hell and flee to somewhere else. Anywhere else. That somewhere else isn't always safe either. It tempts and lures you out because it isn't the darkness and anything has to be better than void. So we must accept the light, whatever its purpose. Whether it is there to guide or to blind.

Marty was running towards this ambiguous light. He had just left Jennifer to be consumed by the darkness in which she fell. It was the kindest thing he could do in such a short time that he had to worth with. Her death had sparked Marty's light and was leading him out of the tunnels. He was marching angrily toward the exit in Doctor Brown's office and then onwards to find Edna. He felt like he was old hat at finding his way around the CCI hellhole. He almost felt like he lived there, so much was he consumed by the darkness that embraced the cold tunnels. He didn't care if he was caught by the guards. Indeed, he was almost counting on it.

But on the way out of the tunnels, he met no resistance. Maybe his anger created a kind of force field that emanated out from his heart that had been so harmed by recent events. Jennifer's death had been purposefully done to incite him to act and he knew this. He knew that she was being used as bait to draw him out and into Edna's trap. But then so were his parents and this really made his blood boil. The scent was all too tempting and Marty was going to put a stop to Edna's plans, no matter what.

He reached the blank bit of wall, found the 'lock' and clambered through the door into Doctor Brown's splendid office. Its fine decoration and architecture held little glory in Marty's eyes. After losing this worlds Jennifer, everything appeared to resemble the dank tunnel in which she lost her life. It didn't matter. The power that Doctor Brown and Edna had once shared to build this utopia upon chemical production meant nothing when shrouded by the fact that it had killed.

Suddenly, Marty heard a loud cheer come from outside the large clock face window. He walked over to the glass to see whether he could catch a glimpse of what was taking place outside. The glass wasn't clear so he couldn't see through, but whatever it was, there were a lot of people all making their way into the town square for it. Marty tried to dispel thoughts from his brain, turning his thoughts from what it was towards how he was going to get there without being spotted. He'd have to keep his head down and since travelling with Doc, he had become worryingly accustomed to this.

The only certainty was that he had to make his way out of Doctor Brown's office and start looking for a back exit. There had to be one somewhere with this many tunnels and passages hidden underneath the building. One had to come out somewhere that wasn't the front door.

He pushed the large wooden door open to find himself in the waiting room in which he had woken a few hours beforehand. So much had happened since then. He'd learnt so much about this awful world and what it did to its people, and, what some of its people were willing to do to keep it in check.

There was a pressure pad on the wall, which Marty pressed firmly, and the door out onto the corridor slid open. Marty expected to encounter guards outside and he was ready to attempt to fight them off but, again, none presented themselves. Now that he came to think about it, it was awfully quiet. He hadn't seen anyone skulking around since he bypassed the guards heading away from Jennifer. Away from…Marty shook his head to clear the horrible image that had crept inside his mind. Instead, his thoughts flicked to wonder where they had been going. There was only one place. To the amassing crowd outside, to wherever Marty's parents were, to Edna…

Marty started running down corridors, finding himself fairly confident in the idea that every guard would be outside or on other duties by now. Trying to find a boy running loose would hardly be their biggest priority until they knew where exactly he was and Marty had no intentions of them finding out any time soon. He snaked his way around the corridors of the court house, remembering parts of the original lay out which he had run around back in 1931 and then just plain guessing when he entered somewhere that he could not place. Lefts, rights, up stair cases, down stair cases flashed by him until he found a small door, far from the murmur of the crowd outside, that led to the outside world.

He had come out behind the large affronting buildings that circled Hill Valley's town square. A back entrance that he had never even known existed. Always handy to know about. Marty crept around the large grey buildings and started making his way round to the front of the square. As he came into the normally deserted town square, Marty was astonished as he came across the largest crowd he had even seen in Hill Valley. People were crammed in to the very extremes that the space would allow up to the back of the grass area. All had packed in to watch the freak show.

In front of the statue in the middle of the square, a small wooden stage had been hurriedly constructed. It hugged the proud statue as if keeping it safe. There was a small podium that stood near the front of the stage and some block steps had been placed leading up on to the stage which wasn't terribly high from the ground. Just enough for Marty, standing at the back of the crowd, to see the two guards who stood on the stage from the waist up. They stood on patrol looking out over the huge amassed crowd. Guns stood ready in their belts. Nothing would go wrong today. Their black uniforms and helmets shielding their identities. Could have been anyone under those masks. A line of police was stationed around the edges of the crowd, attempting to pen them in like cattle. The crowd stretched right back to the corners of the square. All tightly packed and trying to get a glimpse of what was about to happen. The murmuring was so loud that it rivalled the kind back at high school before Strickland would enter the room. The hushed, quick whispering that filled classrooms, the quickest way to communicate before the teacher interrupted conversation. That guy couldn't half cut through the gossip into silence. And it appeared, so could Edna.

Without warning, the huge doors of the courthouse began to creak open. The crowd tripped into silence. It was so eerie after the rustle of inquired whispers a moment earlier. Their quiet questions were about to be answered and so was Marty's.

Edna was the first to leave the confines of the courthouse. Accompanied, of course, by a consort of guards. No Queen can go anywhere without her train. She wore a repulsive purple combination of skirt, frilly shirt and high heels. The whole outfit reeked of power. Her face wasn't too pretty either. Marty had forgotten how repulsed he felt by her. A vicious sneer danced across her jaws as she and her gang moved from the main doors, past the main gate and through the part of the crowd that lined the near side of the platform. The small group ascended the steps and Edna went to stand in the middle of the stage. Her audience was silent. Wrapt by her and the potential she bore.

Marty tried to sneak his way through the crowd. Keeping his head down so as to avoid any suspicious looks or anyone raising the alarm. He didn't want to screw up his chances now. Weaving his way through the crowd, Marty slowly but surely got closer and closer to Edna. He needed to hear the lies as they tumbled from her mouth. He had to hear her excuses. What new crap would she come up with to justify what she had done?

'Citizens of Hill Valley…' A loud roar reared its ugly head as she addressed them as their leader. There was no doubt that she was in charge here and probably had always been. How she had subverted Doctor Brown and history itself and modelled it to suit her wishes. All the decisions of a merciless woman. No thoughts for the lives she had crushed under that prim purple, pointless pair of high heels. It didn't give her any form of prominence over the crowd. It only showed Marty that she had raised herself to this position of power and how easily she could fall. 'I call you here today on very sad news.' The crowd sighed in pity but it wasn't real. It was forced. More inquiring that it was pitying. Who had done wrong and how would they atone? There they all were, licking their lips like hyenas. The hunger before the feast.

'The citizen who was seen earlier today, attacking our glorious leader…' The crowd hissed. '…has caused turned him against Eden and now the glorious Doctor Brown is missing.' The crowd gasped. They really were like a panto crowd. Reacting to every word she said like they had been trained to do so since birth. Maybe they had. 'We are here today to make him realise what it is to lose ones focus. This act of treason against Hill Valley carries a maximum penalty, but in light of the severity of recent events, the actions have been sanctioned by our most respected judge.'

Maximum penalty? What did that mean? Whatever it was going to be, it was pretty heavy. No way back if this all went wrong. Suddenly, the big wooden doors opened and behind two guards were led the two people that Marty had been waiting for and yet their appearance seemed unexpected. Actually seeing them revealed to the crowd, like performing animals and the response from the people as these two broken figures were dragged out was truly horrific. Marty was no chicken but this made him nearly turn his heels and run. What had this world turned to?

His parents were led past the gates and their little entourage of guards led them onto the platform and placed them together in the middle of the stage. Edna had moved over to the small podium when his parents had left the relative safety of the court house. Neither of them were bound except to one another. Holding hands to stay together. They were both shadows of their former selves, but at least they had one another in this moment of fear. And soon enough, they would both have Marty to rescue them. Or so he hoped. Marty feared that whatever Edna and this world had concocted for them they would be very unlikely to allow them to escape without being harmed. They were completely surrounded. They couldn't have escaped even if they wanted to.

'This man and woman have flouted one of the moral codes of our sweet Hill Valley. The city built them up to the best they could be and gave them all they could wish for themselves and for their child. In his attempt to bring down out leader, who is still missing, we will give his parents a taste of his own medicine. He tried to bring us down and now we'll bring him down.' Edna moved towards the podium and started twiddling with buttons whilst the crowd babbled and cackled. Marty looked around him in utter wonder. So many faces he recognised from the real 1985. All advocating the tearing down of two innocent figures to spite another. What was this world?

Suddenly, the whole crowd descended into a hushed silence. The statue of Doctor Brown, Edna and the children started to move and creak awake. The arm which held the giant pill casing aloft extended until it was positioned over the top of the stage. The grin on the metallic Doctor Brown's face appeared to mould and become more manic by the second. The golden varnish on the pill began to shrink away in segments until the colouring had completely vanished. What lay within was truly terrible. A luminous green bubbling cauldron of hate sat encased above Marty's parent's heads. The crowd gasped. Marty could tell what was going to happen next. The capsule was going to open and pour down on to his parents leaving untold damage. And all of it was because Marty had tried to break the system. Maybe it was not what the time did to people but what they did to it that truly made this world monstrous. Marty had entered the world and asked too much of it and now he was paying the price.

At seeing the bubbling liquid, Marty's fight or flight instinct snapped and he started barging his way through the crowd. Knocking people left, right and centre, all so that he could get to the stage and end this! Those on stage noticed the commotion as it spread through the sea of people like an angry wave. Marty reached the front of the crowd and jumped up onto the stage. He ran towards Edna, not entirely sure of what he was going to do. But before he could get to her, he was grabbed by a mob of police and tackled to the floor. He tried struggling when he heard the cries of his mother and father as they watched their son being wrestled to the ground. But the guards were too strong. They had is confined and his little plan had back fired.

Edna strolled over. The sound of her high heels scratching on Marty's patience. They really did make the most ghastly sound when they weren't needed.

'Pick him up.' Edna commanded and Marty was lifted by two henchmen so that the tips of his feet were just touching the floor. He was hanging from the two guards' shoulders, unable to break free.

'Hello Martin. How nice of you to join us. I'm glad that you could be here to witness this. It was planned with you in mind.' The crowd cheered as the nameless assailant of Doctor Brown had been thwarted. 'You will be held in the CCI until you reveal what you have done with Doctor Brown and your reasons for doing so. We did our best and yet you still repel us. What went so wrong?' She traced his chin with her chipped purple nails. Marty flinched, trying to kick out, but unable to move from the tight grip of the men whose clutches he was caught in. Edna gave a wan smile and walked back over to the podium and placed her hand on a large red button. Why is it always a large red button? 'Well, whatever it is, we're about to put it right. Don't worry about a thing. It won't hurt a bit.' And Edna leaned in to the button, sucking every essence of power which she craved from this responsibility. Marty cried out as her finger pressed the huge button and the capsule began to open…


	12. Heavy stuff

Everything appeared as if in slow motion. The casing that caressed the green substance began to crack and splinter as more liquid poured in through the arm of the statue. The gasps of the crowd became prolonged and sounded almost like yawns. They danced around Marty's ears, coaxing him and he stood trapped in the strong embrace of Edna's henchmen. He had to watch his family suffer and who knew what else.

Suddenly, a loud screech pierced the air. It penetrated the crowds continued gasps as a gunshot punctured space and time. Another shot sounded and Marty's dream came true. The slick stainless steel form of the DeLorean slipped from its moorings which held it as one with time. It was spat from the continuum into the present and span across the piece of road between the statue and the courthouse gates.

The crowd dispersed along with the policemen who tried to contain them. Most of the people now fled along the roads through which they had first entered the town square. A few were staying to discover what had caused the commotion out of fear, shock and intrigue. Marty could hardly blame them. The sudden emergence of the defrosted DeLorean had sent a spark into the hearts of all who stood on the platform. All except Marty had run, searching for some form of safety. Edna had been cradled by several of her henchmen, including those who had held their paws around Marty, and bundled her away to safety. George and Lorraine had managed to dive out of the way of green liquid as it seeped through the cracks and onto the wooden stage. Marty watched as the deadly juices dripped onto the stage and began to eat away at it. The wood on which George and Lorraine had been standing was gone within seconds and the green liquid was now starting to make its way through the earth below. Marty smiled as he was comforted by the thought that his worst dreams had not been realised. His family had been saved. Edna was momentarily inconvenienced and hidden away. And Doctor Brown had done this. With a little help from Marty, of course, but Doctor Brown had fulfilled his mission. He had saved the day. Just like Doc always did.

Marty ran over to the DeLorean behind which George and Lorraine had also sought cover. He ran over to his parents who both embraced him, his mother's hold especially tight.

The right hand side door of the DeLorean rose out of its casing majestically. A familiar figure clambered out, legs all over the place trying to find solid ground upon which to plant his feet. Marty had forgotten. This had been this worlds Docs first attempt at time travelling. Now Marty would be able to see the reaction he had first displayed to those people whose barn he had found himself in back in 1955. The bewildered face of Doctor Brown greeted Marty and it wasn't half a sight to see. Eyebrows stretched to their extremities, mouth agape and eyes almost popping. Doctor Brown stared around him, running his hand through his big white hair. Taking in the scene. People were still fleeing from the town centre whilst the few who had stayed were watching their grand and magnificent leader emerge from a smoking vehicle that had never existed in this Hill Valley. All were watching with intrigued expectation and anticipation. Doctor Brown finally set eyes on Marty and placed his hands on either shoulder.

'What year is it?'

'1985, Doctor.' Marty smiled. He'd only seen this man about half an hour before hand, but even he could see the change in his old friend from the version he had first seen when he entered this reality.

'IT WORKED!' Doctor Brown started leaping up and down like a jumping jack. Staring in disbelief at the car he had brought back to its full glory. His face was ecstatic that his machine, his work had triumphed. He embraced Marty like an old friend and squeezed tight. Marty hugged back. This man felt like the old Doc. His Doc. This was no longer the man corrupted by his wife or by the awful timeline in which terror and dominance had flourished. This man had gone through what Doc Brown had in the other universe. Knowing that he had to succeed. But this Doc was different. A whole new kind of beast. He didn't just have to succeed for his own sake like Marty's Doc. This man had expectation lain upon his shoulders. The hopes of Marty and of time itself and he had delivered.

He had succeeded. He was more Doc than Doc had been in some ways. It was a wonder to see. Doctor Brown and Marty pulled away from the hug whilst the older man clapped his destined friend on the shoulder.

'Yeah. And just in the nick of time…' Marty joked.

'Why? What happened here…' But before Doctor Brown could finish his sentence, a colossal *BANG* was heard as it ricocheted around Hill Valley's town square. The capsule of glass had faltered in its strength and exploded, spewing toxic green liquid over the surrounding area. Wherever the green ooze landed, it began to eat away at whatever it touched. It bore huge holes in the ground and cut through the wooden stage like scissors through paper. However, what took most of the brunt of the chemical deluge was the statue of Doctor Brown, Edna and the children. The metal weakened under the strain of the corrosive liquid. The faces began to corrupt and dissolve away. The individual bodies appeared to mould into one another as the green liquid forced the structure to creak into a new even more horrific structure. Sadly those standing too close to the statue were also doused in the liquid and their cries began to resonate around the dead Hill Valley. It was truly awful to behold. Their families circled around them and dragged them to safety away from the pools of green liquid as they ate into the ground.

'We've got to get out of here.' Marty shouted and gestured to his parents to get into the car. They were in no position to argue and so did as they were told. 'Doc, you drive them back home. I'll meet you there.'

'What are you going to do?'

'I'll meet you there in a few minutes. I just need to think for a sec.' Marty flagged down Doctor Brown's questions and pushed him towards the DeLorean.

'Don't take too long, Marty. Edna and her…my men might come back to investigate and see what's left. Need you to save the world remember?' Doctor Brown flashed the wicked smile that Marty knew so well before slipping into the DeLorean. He closed the gullwing door and drove the silver flash of a car around the town centre and out of sight.

Marty watched as the DeLorean sped out of sight. That funny little car that had been through so much held all of his hopes. He would follow it soon and start the adventure all over again. No idea where he'd end up. Yes, he knew when he wanted to go and he knew what he had to do. But how, that really was a big question. All he knew was that it had to stop what stood in front of him from happening. He looked at the destroyed town square as people were nursed for the burns that continued to find new things to destroy. He turned to the court house. Even that didn't hold any comfort. Inside was probably Edna being tended to after the disaster that had unfolded before her eyes. If Marty was proud of anything, it was bringing some misery to that woman's life. But also within that building was Jennifer. She had been a victim of this world and this timeline. However, Marty could not look away from his own actions. What had happened over the last day or so had been as a direct result of Marty coming back to the future and meddling. He was to blame for what had happened. And it was his duty to make it right.

He started to walk in the direction in which the DeLorean had sped away. He reached the edge of the town centre and turned back to look at it. He hoped that the next time he would see it in 1985 everything would be back to the way it should be. Or at least the way he had always known it to be. For now though, he had to concentrate on getting to the DeLorean and travelling back alone to put it all right. Things had to change for the better and he was the only man who could. This was heavy.


	13. Where we're going

Marty had jogged back to the Lyons Estate to find Doctor Brown sitting on the bonnet of the DeLorean, flicking through the pages of Doc's notebook. Marty didn't know what else was in that book apart from the notes about the DeLorean, but whatever it was; it was his Doc's life. A man's existence in pages and the only thing that truly remained of the man Marty knew from the real 1985. But Marty was going to change this and bring the real one back. He approached this version of his old friend cautiously; unaware of what he could be reading through. A few paces away, Doctor Brown noticed Marty and greeted him with a smile.

'Martin.' He acknowledged the young boy with a nod of his head and slammed the pages of the notebook shut.

'Mum and Dad inside?' Marty gestured towards the house. They would be safe for now. That's all that mattered to Marty. At least he saved someone.

'Yeah. Overjoyed to be home. Can't blame them after what she…we put them through. I'm sorry, Martin.' Doctor Brown looked up to the house and imagined what the two people who stood inside had been through. Imagination was his only way of seeing what had been done to them in his name. He realised now that his world was corrupt and, whilst it had brought good in the world, there had to be something better than a society dictated to in the name of moral betterment. By confining the people of Hill Valley and using their products to hold the world hostage, they were just creating a well down which they would fall soon enough. Meeting this Martin had opened his eyes and he wasn't going to miss the opportunity for things to change. He just needed to apologise for what the world had done. It was the least he could do at that moment.

'You don't need to be sorry. In the end you saved them and caused some mayhem whilst you were at it. Now that's the Doc Brown I know.' Marty joked. On first meeting this world's version of his mentor, he had no hope. He thought he had lost the only person he could relate to. The world of time travel without Doc was a lonely one. But as this world's Doc had come around, it was like the two men were one. It was almost like he'd never lost Doc and that was a blessing. He needed someone to share the strange stories with. This man was the closest he would get to the real thing for the time being.

'You know, I never did like that statue.' Doctor Brown smirked. Marty came and sat on the bonnet beside Doctor Brown. 'You know it's strange to think that right now, I'm out there trying to decipher my own notes.' He was right, of course. The man Marty had found in the office and convinced to fight on his side was probably on his way to fix the DeLorean. Marty often forgot that two versions of the same person could be in the same timeline. Yeah, he had seen himself play 'Johnny B Goode' at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance in 1955 and watched himself as he escaped from the clutches of the Libyan terrorists by shooting off into time. But it never quite seemed real and it never really felt like he was watching his own experiences. It just felt so detached sometimes. And that was, no doubt, how Doctor Brown felt. He had done all the things that the man Marty had found lying on the floor of the office would do over the next few years. This man had seen time pass and watched as this world got inevitably worse. All of the time knowing that he had to fix the DeLorean and get back so that Marty could fix the timelines and make it as if this world had never happened. How long must it have been to see the dream come true? How much must this man have hoped? Marty owed him so much already. He would probably never be able to repay the old man fully.

'How long has it been for you?' Marty had to ask. Knowing would be even more of an incentive for the adventure he had to embark upon to save Hill Valley. There was still a long road to walk along.

'You can tell, eh? More wrinkles around the eyes? Hair whiter, is it? I do pride myself on not looking too shabby for my age. Let's just say it took me two years to work out what I had to do. Then add another five or so getting relevant parts together trying to fix things. Then trial and error. It was longer than I thought it would take. But worth every second and every penny.'

'Fix things?'

'Yeah. The Mr Fusion thing had almost destroyed itself. Had to rebuild it and link it up to the nuclear fuel lines that ran to the flux capacitor. And then when I got there, the flux capacitor was a bit iffy so I rebuilt it…'

'You rebuilt the flux capacitor?' Marty was astonished. What had been wrong? The car had been sound when he had arrived in this reality.

'The car was structurally solid and in working order when I got to her, but I don't know what you did, or maybe as a result of the car never having supposed to exist in this timeline, things just kept failing like she was turning off. One by one, things would stop working and one day the flux capacitor just wouldn't function. I never built this car because your version of me never existed. It was like she was blinking out of existence. I had to rebuild her…well…I had to build her for the first time. It was the only way.' Doc patted the bonnet of the old DeLorean. The most battered car in the history of the world. And she didn't look bad on it yet.

'My God, you are Doc.' Marty laughed. 'Never make it easy for yourself.'

'Says the man who changed history and now has to sort it out again.' Doctor Brown said smugly. He knew he was in the wrong, but he wasn't going to make it easy for Marty to blame it all on him. He could feel the rapport building between the two of them, just as if they had known one another for years. It was uncanny. Maybe some things are the same in more than one reality. Who knew? It was the only thing Doctor Brown could think of. Maybe Marty and he were a pairing stretched across so many realities. You could never have one without the other.

'Point taken.' Doc always knew the best way to bring Marty back to Earth. These jaunts through time sometimes made Marty forget that this was real life. The concept of time travel was just something you found in movies until that fateful night at Lone Pine Mall. He and Doc had been messing with people's lives and running through time like it was all so easy. Now he had to make everything better. No pressure.

'So what's the plan now?' Doctor Brown patted Marty on the shoulder. He was about to embark on a great adventure to save time and causality itself. No mean feat.

'I'm taking the DeLorean back to 1931 and I'm going to sort this mess out. No idea how yet, but I have to.' Marty got up from the car bonnet and lifted the driver's side gull wing door. He sat in the driver's seat and pulled on the seatbelt. Doctor Brown had also pulled himself up from his seat on the car and walked to the other side of the vehicle. He was looking at Marty with a knowing smile. Why wasn't he saying anything? But then Marty realised. The keys were not in the ignition. Doctor Brown must have still had them. Marty signalled for Doctor Brown to give him the keys but the old man shook his head. Marty gestured again. Why was Doc being so annoying? The other door rose out of the car and Doctor Brown leapt into the passenger's seat.

'I'm coming with you.' He insisted. Marty stared at the old man in disbelief. What was he doing?

'Wait! What? No you're not.'

'What will happen if I don't come back?'

'The timelines will rewrite around you. If everything goes to plan, I'll come back to a better 1985 and all this will have been some horrible nightmare and only I will remember. Just as it should be.' Marty asked for the keys, but Doctor Brown refused.

'Very noble of you, young Martin! All well and good for people like your family and the rest of Hill Valley. But as far as I am aware the factor that you will be going back and altering is my life, am I correct?' Marty knew where this was going and didn't want the extra hassle but he couldn't lie to Doc. Marty nodded reluctantly. 'Then you understand where my next request is coming from?'

'But Doc, if it all goes well and time changes for the better…'

'I am well aware of the potential for that. But it's my life and if anyone is going to meddle in it, I would like the opportunity to do so or at least to supervise when necessary. You have awoken my eyes to so many possibilities. The idea that there was a better world beyond the segregation of Hill Valley and the rest of the world, time travel…' Doctor Brown laughed, amazed, at the last potential. So many things had been brought to his attention. Even if Marty hadn't been meddling with his life, he would have liked a trip back to his youth. Everything was so much simpler. He would give anything to see that world just once more. He had also seen the photographs in his own notebook. Two photographs of the plaque up on the clock tower. The plaque commemorating the building in honour of Marty. If this was his Marty, then he would be damned sure to help in whatever way he could in finding the truth as to why the young man's name was up there in memory. Marty had saved his life, now it was time to save his. But Doctor Brown didn't need Marty to know that. Not just yet. 'And if I can perceive anything from what you have told me about your adventures with the other me, then they should be conducted as a team. Partners in crime and all that.' Doctor Brown's eyes were almost pleading.

'I can't stop you, can I?'

'Not a chance.' Doctor Brown smiled. He pulled the keys out of his jacket pocket and threw them over to Marty. The boy from 1985 caught them and placed them in the ignition. Turning the key and hearing the reassuring thrum as the engine burst into life, Marty reversed the car slightly and lined up the DeLorean.

'What are you doing boy? We don't have enough road to back up to eighty eight!' Doctor Brown shouted, looking at the stretch of road in front of them. Marty smiled as he remembered those exact words pouring from his own mouth before they ventured forward to 2015. This time he was the one who knew what they were doing. He was Doc.

'Where we're going, we don't need…roads.' Marty pressed down on the gas pedal and the car roared into life. They hit eighty eight miles per hour and light began to envelop the car. Doctor Brown watched as the stainless steel construction was caressed by an energy that neither man could ever possibly understand. The feeling of tripping into time was a strange and yet comforting one. All at once, one felt like one was being thrown into the fire and, yet also, into the arms of a being that every person was supported by from the very beginning. Time. A constant companion wherever and whenever one went. Only this time, Marty and Doc were bending the rules and getting their comforter to obey them. The car went screaming into time carrying the hopes and dreams of a potential reality. The only trace left behind were the tyre tracks leading into infinity.

-x-x-x-

And that is the end of Fallout from the Atomic Wars! Thank you so much for reading. I hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it! If you have been with us through 'Heavy Stuff' and now through this part, I thank you so much!

Soon Part Three of this trilogy based on The Game will begin and we'll be off on another wild adventure with Marty and Doc! Look out for 'Doubleback' coming to you soon (hopefully :P)!

Thank you again and I will see you soon! Much love!

From Katie


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